Expressive
adjective
Showing feelings or thoughts clearly.
Her expressive eyes told a story of pain.
Often appears as...
- expressive eyes
- expressive face
adjective
Having the power to convey feelings or thoughts.
Music is a highly expressive art form.
Often appears as...
- expressive art
- expressive language
adjective
Involving the clear and effective expression of ideas.
They are working on making the programming language more expressive.
Often appears as...
- expressive language
- expressive power
Usage tips
Approving
Technical
adjective
Showing feelings or thoughts clearly.
Her expressive eyes told a story of pain.
Often appears as...
- expressive eyes
- expressive face
adjective
Having the power to convey feelings or thoughts.
Music is a highly expressive art form.
Often appears as...
- expressive art
- expressive language
adjective
Involving the clear and effective expression of ideas.
They are working on making the programming language more expressive.
Often appears as...
- expressive language
- expressive power
Usage tips
Approving
Technical
Definition 1 of 3
Pro Tip 1/3Facial Expressions
Often paired with facial features to describe how emotions are shown non-verbally.
His expressive smile lit up the room.
Pro Tip 2/3Not Just Sadness
Expressive can describe any strong emotion, not just sadness or pain.
Her expressive laughter was infectious.
Pro Tip 3/3Beyond Words
Refers to showing thoughts or feelings without necessarily using words.
Artists use expressive brush strokes to convey their message.
Compare with
articulatecommunicativedemonstrativeemotionalevocativegraphicpassionatereveal
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Video examples
Robots with "soul" PIPE Guy...
otherwise nobody would ever go see a live show. Musicians also communicate with their bodies, with other band members, with the audience, they use their bodies to express the music. And I thought, we already have a robot musician on stage, why not make it be a full-fledged musician? And I started designing a socially expressive head for the robot.
Video examples
Mary Roach: 10 things...
And she said, you can't make that conclusion, because animals don't register pain or pleasure on their faces in the same way that we do. Pigs, for example, are more like dogs. They use the upper half of the face; the ears are very expressive. So you're not really sure what's going on with the pig.
Video examples
Why should you listen to...
and so does Vivaldi's musical exploration of the seasons. Not until the early 19th century would such expressive instrumental program music, as it was known, become popular. By then, larger, more varied ensembles were the rule with woodwinds, brass, and percussion to help tell the tale.
Video examples
Why we love repetition...
but the guitarist pitch bending might be of critical expressive importance. The speech to song illusion captures how simply repeating a sentence a number of times shifts listeners attention to the pitch and temporal aspects of the sound, so that the repeated spoken language
Video examples
The power of women's...
we don't blame systems, we blame them. We can be angry at other women, because who doesn't love a good catfight? And we can be angry at men with lower status in an expressive hierarchy that supports racism or xenophobia. But we have an enormous power in this.
Video examples
What Bruce Lee can teach...
Are you confident? Are you focused? Are you skilled? Are you intuitive? Are you expressive, creative, aware? So I want to talk to you today about your how in your life. So we do a little bit of -- we spend a little time in existential crisis
Video examples
What’s the point(e) of...
choreographers string these gestures together with new movements to form expressive combinations. Working alongside the orchestra’s live score, ballerinas precisely perform these combinations to convey narrative, emotion, and character.
Video examples
Love and hormones PIPE...
expressive of dopamine and the estrogen system we are putting people into brain scanners we've done two studies so far I'm working on it absolutely daily we're beginning to map some of the brain circuitry of personality style and won't
Video examples
Safari Live - Day 35 PIPE...
aerial down ricci that whites on the tip of her tail most certainly helps to spot in fact that's what we look for more than anything is that white tip she it helps us a lot citric is an expressive
Video examples
Silverback Gorilla and...
connection like chimps their curiosity their closed families their expressive eyes are all very much like ours they're the largest member of our family but we
Video examples
Robots with "soul" PIPE Guy...
otherwise nobody would ever go see a live show. Musicians also communicate with their bodies, with other band members, with the audience, they use their bodies to express the music. And I thought, we already have a robot musician on stage, why not make it be a full-fledged musician? And I started designing a socially expressive head for the robot.
Video examples
Mary Roach: 10 things...
And she said, you can't make that conclusion, because animals don't register pain or pleasure on their faces in the same way that we do. Pigs, for example, are more like dogs. They use the upper half of the face; the ears are very expressive. So you're not really sure what's going on with the pig.
Video examples
Why should you listen to...
and so does Vivaldi's musical exploration of the seasons. Not until the early 19th century would such expressive instrumental program music, as it was known, become popular. By then, larger, more varied ensembles were the rule with woodwinds, brass, and percussion to help tell the tale.
Video examples
Why we love repetition...
but the guitarist pitch bending might be of critical expressive importance. The speech to song illusion captures how simply repeating a sentence a number of times shifts listeners attention to the pitch and temporal aspects of the sound, so that the repeated spoken language
Video examples
The power of women's...
we don't blame systems, we blame them. We can be angry at other women, because who doesn't love a good catfight? And we can be angry at men with lower status in an expressive hierarchy that supports racism or xenophobia. But we have an enormous power in this.
Video examples
What Bruce Lee can teach...
Are you confident? Are you focused? Are you skilled? Are you intuitive? Are you expressive, creative, aware? So I want to talk to you today about your how in your life. So we do a little bit of -- we spend a little time in existential crisis
Video examples
What’s the point(e) of...
choreographers string these gestures together with new movements to form expressive combinations. Working alongside the orchestra’s live score, ballerinas precisely perform these combinations to convey narrative, emotion, and character.
Video examples
Love and hormones PIPE...
expressive of dopamine and the estrogen system we are putting people into brain scanners we've done two studies so far I'm working on it absolutely daily we're beginning to map some of the brain circuitry of personality style and won't
Video examples
Safari Live - Day 35 PIPE...
aerial down ricci that whites on the tip of her tail most certainly helps to spot in fact that's what we look for more than anything is that white tip she it helps us a lot citric is an expressive
Video examples
Silverback Gorilla and...
connection like chimps their curiosity their closed families their expressive eyes are all very much like ours they're the largest member of our family but we
Example 1 of 10
Quote examples
Jiah Khan
British Actress
Style to me is a mix between rock star chic-quirky-sexy and expressive. I always dress for my body type, as it's important to highlight your pluses! I like edgy clothes that have character. I usually dress by the mood I'm in - so if I'm in my ripped jeans and leather jacket, you know I'm feeling rebellious!
Quote examples
Timothy Leary
American Educator
When our systematic knowledge of human expressive behavior is more advanced, it will be possible to study the literary and historical documents of the past and to determine the expressed and implied views of personality that determined the behavior of our ancestors.
Quote examples
Shaun Tan
Australian Artist
I like the idea of contained emotion because I grew up most of my life feeling that way. As an adolescent, people would always say I was not expressive, and they always made the mistake of thinking that I didn't feel anything because I didn't react to things.
Quote examples
Sam Abell
American Photographer
There are a lot of ways to be expressive in life, but I wasn't good at some of them. Music, for instance. I was a distinct failure with the cello. Eventually, my parents sold the cello and bought a vacuum cleaner. The sound in our home improved.
Quote examples
Roland Orzabal
English Musician
Mad World' hasn't dated because it's expressive of a period I call the teenage menopause, where your hormones are going crazy as you're leaving childhood. Your fingers are on the cliff and you're about to drop off, but somehow you cling on.
Quote examples
Thomas Horn
American Actor
I'm not sure I have a natural gift. I think it's just that some people have an easier time expressing their emotions, maybe because of the way they've been raised, and I've always been expressive.
Quote examples
Jessica Barden
English Actress
I can't lie - I have one of those faces where you can tell. It's expressive and lends itself to being cheeky. I always tell the truth even when I should probably tell a white lie.
Quote examples
Virgil Abloh
American Designer
To me, graphic T-shirts are the most important and most expressive format for a designer or a person. Your taste in graphic tees says a lot about your point of view.
Quote examples
Ry Cooder
American Musician
The blues is so expressive - nostalgic but not sentimental, mournful but not pathetic, so humble and close to the earth. It's a nuance-filled thing.
Quote examples
Gloria Estefan
American Musician
Being Latin parents makes us extremely expressive with our affections.
Quote examples
Jiah Khan
British Actress
Style to me is a mix between rock star chic-quirky-sexy and expressive. I always dress for my body type, as it's important to highlight your pluses! I like edgy clothes that have character. I usually dress by the mood I'm in - so if I'm in my ripped jeans and leather jacket, you know I'm feeling rebellious!
Quote examples
Timothy Leary
American Educator
When our systematic knowledge of human expressive behavior is more advanced, it will be possible to study the literary and historical documents of the past and to determine the expressed and implied views of personality that determined the behavior of our ancestors.
Quote examples
Shaun Tan
Australian Artist
I like the idea of contained emotion because I grew up most of my life feeling that way. As an adolescent, people would always say I was not expressive, and they always made the mistake of thinking that I didn't feel anything because I didn't react to things.
Quote examples
Sam Abell
American Photographer
There are a lot of ways to be expressive in life, but I wasn't good at some of them. Music, for instance. I was a distinct failure with the cello. Eventually, my parents sold the cello and bought a vacuum cleaner. The sound in our home improved.
Quote examples
Roland Orzabal
English Musician
Mad World' hasn't dated because it's expressive of a period I call the teenage menopause, where your hormones are going crazy as you're leaving childhood. Your fingers are on the cliff and you're about to drop off, but somehow you cling on.
Quote examples
Thomas Horn
American Actor
I'm not sure I have a natural gift. I think it's just that some people have an easier time expressing their emotions, maybe because of the way they've been raised, and I've always been expressive.
Quote examples
Jessica Barden
English Actress
I can't lie - I have one of those faces where you can tell. It's expressive and lends itself to being cheeky. I always tell the truth even when I should probably tell a white lie.
Quote examples
Virgil Abloh
American Designer
To me, graphic T-shirts are the most important and most expressive format for a designer or a person. Your taste in graphic tees says a lot about your point of view.
Quote examples
Ry Cooder
American Musician
The blues is so expressive - nostalgic but not sentimental, mournful but not pathetic, so humble and close to the earth. It's a nuance-filled thing.
Quote examples
Gloria Estefan
American Musician
Being Latin parents makes us extremely expressive with our affections.
Example 1 of 10
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