Meaning & use
communicative
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Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Willing to talk and share information, thoughts or feelings.
Grammar: Often with a negative: not very communicative.
He is not very communicative in the mornings.
She was open and communicative with her team.
adjectivebefore a nountechnical
Relating to the exchange of information, especially language used for real conversation.
Grammar: Before a noun: communicative skills.
The course uses a communicative approach to teaching English.
Good communicative skills help in any job.
Word forms
| comparative | more communicative |
|---|---|
| superlative | most communicative |
Common combinations
- communicative skills
- Nurses need communicative skills.
- communicative approach
- The communicative approach focuses on speaking.
- highly communicative
- The baby is highly communicative.
- not very communicative
- He was not very communicative.
Synonyms and how they differ
- talkative
- Talkative means likes to talk a lot, even without sharing meaning.
- forthcoming
- Forthcoming means readily providing information.
- open
- Open stresses honesty and lack of secrecy.
Opposites
Word family
- communicate verb
- to share information
- communication noun
- exchange of information
- uncommunicative adjective
- not willing to talk
Commonly confused: communicative or communal?
communicative vs communal
Communal means shared by a group, unrelated to speaking.
Practice
My brother is not very ___, so I never know how he feels.
Choose one answer.
Communicative means willing to share thoughts. Communal means shared.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “communicative”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.