exploratory

adjective

Definition of exploratorynext
as in experimental
done or created to find something or to learn more about something exploratory drilling for oil

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of exploratory The ships also have a cavernous hangar housing exploratory craft like kayaks, special ops boats, and even submarines. — Hannah Agran, Midwest Living, 12 Aug. 2026 The conversations were exploratory, and no decision was made, the source added. — Sarah N. Lynch, CBS News, 11 Aug. 2026 To date, hundreds of exploratory wells have been drilled across the globe. — IEEE Spectrum, 11 Aug. 2026 Those kinds of problem-solving and listening skills took Brian Fork on a similarly exploratory career path. — Douglas A. Hicks, Fortune, 9 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for exploratory
Recent Examples of Synonyms for exploratory
  1. experimental
  2. investigative
  3. speculative
  4. tentative
  5. preliminary
  6. theoretical
Adjective
  • But in 2018 Trump signed the Right to Try Act, which allows terminally ill patients to access certain experimental drugs and immunotherapy treatments that have not received full approval from the Food and Drug Administration.
    — Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 30 Aug. 2026
  • Hubble and Webb both have coronagraphs, but Roman’s experimental instrument is 100 to 1,000 times better than any built before, said Bertrand Mennesson, Roman deputy project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
    — Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of experimental
Adjective
  • These statements show a total disregard for confidentiality, basic investigative standards and the seriousness of ethics violations.
    — Collin Corbett, Chicago Tribune, 28 Aug. 2026
  • On Thursday, Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office investigative and tactical teams served a high-risk search warrant at a residence in Salinas and took the suspect into custody.
    — Jason Green, Mercury News, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of investigative
Adjective
  • Unitree’s recent slump has raised concerns about how Beijing may boost emerging strategic sectors without stoking a speculative frenzy.
    — Anniek Bao,Elaine Yu, CNBC, 28 Aug. 2026
  • The premise places the film inside a debate that has moved rapidly from speculative fiction into everyday working life, but Lien’s approach leans away from techno-thriller territory.
    — Davide Abbatescianni, Variety, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of speculative
Adjective
  • Most of us have felt awkward during those first tentative steps back into dating.
    — Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Yet these survivors are so hard-wired to be fearful of their neighbors that Hig and Cima’s rusty, tentative flirtation takes place under the gaze of her daddy’s gun, a heck of a chaperone.
    — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of tentative
Adjective
  • The 70% preliminary expectation wildly exceeded projections for fiscal 2028 revenue of roughly $570 billion, or 44% growth from fiscal 2027 (the current year).
    — Amanda Gerut, Fortune, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Two small cedar trees were found snapped at the trunk, and that’s the extent of the storm damage, investigators said in a preliminary report.
    — Mark Price, Charlotte Observer, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of preliminary
Adjective
  • David Sloan is a theoretical physicist at Lancaster University and the Chief Scientific Officer of the Foundational Questions Institute.
    — Big Think, Big Think, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Far from being a theoretical threat, at least one active attack is already exploiting the mixup.
    — Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of theoretical

Browse Nearby Words

explorations
exploratory
explore
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Cite this Entry

“Exploratory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/exploratory. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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