exclamatory

adjective

ex·​clam·​a·​to·​ry ik-ˈskla-mə-ˌtȯr-ē How to pronounce exclamatory (audio)
: containing, expressing, using, or relating to exclamation
an exclamatory phrase

Examples of exclamatory in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web This question, with its exclamatory urgency, has never been more relevant to Twitter than in the past 48 hours, when Musk decided to nuke 17 years’ worth of brand awareness and rename the thing. Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 25 July 2023 Grant instead heard whispers from teammates and got a couple of exclamatory high fives, but there was no jinxing him. Stephen Borelli, USA TODAY, 31 Mar. 2023 Alvin Trotman, a resident at the apartment complex, witnessed the almost-collision and made an exclamatory comment. Dallas News, 31 Mar. 2022 Melodrama, by contrast, was a futuristic cityscape rendered in synth pop: hard beats, gushing keyboards, exclamatory whispers. Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 27 Oct. 2022 His tlayuda mastery began as a backyard project around 2010 and, spurred by the exclamatory reaction of friends, grew into a catering side gig by 2012. Los Angeles Times, 28 Apr. 2022 Were this a Western film, Toey would be exclamatory, insistent, while Nohng might cry or look away, blushing, as music swells in the background. The New Yorker, 10 Jan. 2022 These were signature moves, a star making exclamatory punctuation of his being, carrying himself in cursive. New York Times, 7 Jan. 2022 Even the exclamation point in the title, a tactic sometimes employed by Aleichem for more obviously exclamatory purposes, has the ring of a press release. Los Angeles Times, 28 June 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'exclamatory.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1593, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of exclamatory was in 1593

Dictionary Entries Near exclamatory

Cite this Entry

“Exclamatory.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/exclamatory. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

exclamatory

adjective
ex·​clam·​a·​to·​ry iks-ˈklam-ə-ˌtōr-ē How to pronounce exclamatory (audio)
-ˌtȯr-
: containing or using exclamation
an exclamatory sentence

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