Timeline for "Explain" versus "Explicate"
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
17 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Mar 6 at 13:21 | comment | added | Tomiwa | I think you're right. They can be used interchangeably. I think it's useful to say explicate when you want to expand the vocabulary of your audience or you want to show people that you have an expansive vocabulary. Sometimes the use of such language may be seen as grandiloquent, however it can also inspire others to also expand their vocabulary. If you are a member of an opressed group, it can showcase that members of your group are capable of using sophisticated verbiage. Its important to do such things in moderation and remain humble. | |
| Nov 16, 2014 at 9:57 | history | protected | CommunityBot | ||
| Oct 8, 2014 at 14:43 | comment | added | rogermue | It's a matter of frequency.Longman's DCE indicates that to explain is a frequent verb of the basic vocabulary. But you have to read a lot till you find the academic verb to explicate. It does not belong to the frequently used words according to Longman. | |
| Sep 16, 2014 at 20:57 | answer | added | Drew | timeline score: -1 | |
| Sep 16, 2014 at 20:55 | comment | added | Drew | There is nothing pretentious or formal about explicate or using explicate. | |
| Sep 16, 2014 at 20:06 | answer | added | Mr Isaac | timeline score: 1 | |
| Aug 27, 2014 at 20:15 | comment | added | user89599 | Just an observation. All words have distinct meanings (often of slight nuances), otherwise there would be no need for them. Often, years of time, or differing cultures, etc., obliterate the differences. But, if one were around in the initial formulation of the word, the differences would be clear. Latin also has this same distinction. These differing words are often generated in a different context. Then there are those words that remain the same in spelling, but have different meanings. | |
| Nov 8, 2013 at 7:25 | history | edited | Kris | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
added 20 characters in body
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| Nov 8, 2013 at 7:09 | answer | added | Kris | timeline score: 8 | |
| Nov 8, 2013 at 6:58 | history | tweeted | twitter.com/#!/StackEnglish/status/398705987886264321 | ||
| Nov 8, 2013 at 5:43 | comment | added | Dimitri | Well context is important in this case and not to mention formality. In any case, you may use explain for any purpose, whether be it scientific, philosophical or something as simple as using stove! Don't over-think it too much! :) | |
| Nov 8, 2013 at 4:27 | answer | added | ZZMike | timeline score: -3 | |
| Nov 8, 2013 at 3:54 | answer | added | Safira | timeline score: 0 | |
| Nov 8, 2013 at 3:51 | comment | added | Potato | @Dimitri So you would say they have the same meaning, just expressed in different registers? | |
| Nov 8, 2013 at 3:51 | comment | added | Dimitri | Explicate I find is used more in a scientific context and it is quite formal. In everyday use, however, 'explain' would be more appropriate. | |
| Nov 8, 2013 at 3:49 | review | First posts | |||
| Nov 8, 2013 at 7:56 | |||||
| Nov 8, 2013 at 3:31 | history | asked | Potato | CC BY-SA 3.0 |