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What's the difference between explaining and explanatory?

I've looked in the dictionary and the translations are the same. Are they synonyms?

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Translations? Do you mean "definitions"? – Zetta Suro Sep 24 '12 at 21:08
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As Souta says, they have almost the same meaning, but are grammatically completely different, and I can't think of a context in which they are interchangeable. – Colin Fine Sep 24 '12 at 22:12

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1 Answer

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I'm going to explain my answer, even though I find the dictionary to be explanatory.

You often explain something. However, when you go to choose 'best answer', you're going to find their answer explanatory.

explain (dictionary):

verb: make (an idea or situation) clear to someone by describing it in more detail or revealing relevant facts

explanatory (dictionary):

adjective: serving to explain something

So, explain is something you do, whereas explanatory describes what is.

Further example:

I am going to explain this answer one last time.

I write this answer explaining what the difference is.

After writing this, I find this to be an explanatory answer.

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Ok, so a description would be rather explanatory than explaining, right? – Ondra Žižka Sep 25 '12 at 6:55
@OndraŽižka As long as your describing the description as explanatory, yes. Explaining is a verb. Explanatory is an adjective, meant to describe something. – Souta Sep 25 '12 at 12:29

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