Standard Lemma guide

indicative

adj · noun · 7 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • US: /ɪnˈdɪk.ə.tɪv/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: IH2 N D IH1 K AH0 T IH0 V Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Serving as a sign, indication or suggestion of something.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • He had pains indicative of a heart attack.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Of, or relating to the indicative mood.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: grammar, human-sciences, linguistics, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

The indicative mood.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Topics: grammar, human-sciences, linguistics, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

A term in the indicative mood.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable

Topics: grammar, human-sciences, linguistics, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

adjective

Meaning 5

relating to the mood of verbs that is used simple in declarative statements

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • indicative mood

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: declarative

Antonyms: none provided

6

adjective satellite

Meaning 6

(usually followed by `of') pointing out or revealing clearly

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • actions indicative of fear

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: indicatory, revelatory, significative, suggestive

Antonyms: none provided

7

noun

Meaning 7

a mood (grammatically unmarked) that represents the act or state as an objective fact

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: indicative mood, declarative mood, declarative, common mood, fact mood

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: mood, mode, modality

History

Etymology

From Middle French indicatif, from Late Latin indicātīvus. By surface analysis, indicate + -ive.

Across languages

Translations

64 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: показващ (pokazvašt) — serving as a sign
  • Bulgarian: показателен (pokazatelen) — serving as a sign
  • Catalan: indicatiu — serving as a sign
  • Dutch: indicatief — serving as a sign
  • Finnish: indikatiivinen — serving as a sign
  • French: indicatif — serving as a sign
  • German: indikativ — serving as a sign
  • German: hinweisend — serving as a sign
  • Greek: ενδεικτικός (endeiktikós) — serving as a sign
  • Ancient Greek: φραστικός (phrastikós) — serving as a sign
  • Hungarian: jelöl — serving as a sign
  • Hungarian: utal — serving as a sign
  • Italian: indicativo — serving as a sign
  • Latin: indicābilis — serving as a sign
  • Macedonian: показа́телен (pokazátelen) — serving as a sign
  • Old English: bicnol — serving as a sign
  • Portuguese: indicativo — serving as a sign
  • Portuguese: indicador — serving as a sign
  • Russian: свиде́тельствующий (svidételʹstvujuščij) — serving as a sign
  • Russian: ука́зывающий (ukázyvajuščij) — serving as a sign
  • Russian: пока́зывающий (pokázyvajuščij) — serving as a sign
  • Catalan: indicatiu — of, or relating to the indicative mood
  • Estonian: kindel — of, or relating to the indicative mood
  • Finnish: indikatiivi- — of, or relating to the indicative mood
  • Finnish: indikatiivinen — of, or relating to the indicative mood
  • French: indicatif — of, or relating to the indicative mood
  • Ancient Greek: ὁριστικός (horistikós) — of, or relating to the indicative mood
  • Hungarian: kijelentő — of, or relating to the indicative mood
  • Hungarian: kijelentő módú — of, or relating to the indicative mood
  • Italian: indicativo — of, or relating to the indicative mood
  • Latin: indicātīvus — of, or relating to the indicative mood
  • Macedonian: и́сказен (ískazen) — of, or relating to the indicative mood
  • Old English: gebīcniendlīċ — of, or relating to the indicative mood
  • Persian: گزارشی (gozâreši) — of, or relating to the indicative mood
  • Portuguese: indicativo — of, or relating to the indicative mood
  • Russian: изъяви́тельный (izʺjavítelʹnyj) — of, or relating to the indicative mood
  • Tagalog: paturol — of, or relating to the indicative mood
  • Bulgarian: изяви́телно наклоне́ние (izjavítelno naklonénie) — the indicative mood
  • Catalan: indicatiu — the indicative mood
  • Chinese Mandarin: 陈述语气 — the indicative mood
  • Czech: indikativ — the indicative mood
  • Dutch: aantonende wijs — the indicative mood
  • Dutch: indicatief — the indicative mood
  • Esperanto: indikativa — the indicative mood
  • Finnish: indikatiivi — the indicative mood
  • French: indicatif — the indicative mood
  • Galician: indicativo — the indicative mood
  • German: Indikativ — the indicative mood
  • Greek: οριστική (oristikí) — the indicative mood
  • Ancient Greek: ὁριστική (horistikḗ) — the indicative mood
  • Hungarian: kijelentő mód — the indicative mood
  • Icelandic: framsöguháttur — the indicative mood
  • Italian: indicativo — the indicative mood
  • Latin: indicativus — the indicative mood
  • Macedonian: и́сказен на́чин (ískazen náčin) — the indicative mood
  • Occitan: indicatiu — the indicative mood
  • Old French: indicatif — the indicative mood
  • Persian: گزارشی (gozâreši) — the indicative mood
  • Polish: tryb orzekający — the indicative mood
  • Polish: tryb oznajmujący — the indicative mood
  • Portuguese: indicativo — the indicative mood
  • Russian: изъяви́тельное наклоне́ние (izʺjavítelʹnoje naklonénije) — the indicative mood
  • Spanish: indicativo — the indicative mood
  • Tagalog: paturol — the indicative mood
Real reading context

indicative in complete knowledge articles