Declaratives

Part of speech: noun, adjective

Definitions

1. Statements that serve to convey information or make assertions ; grammatical expressions used to articulate facts or opinions ; utterances employed to declare or announce something explicitly
2. Linguistic units that function to state or affirm content ; sentence forms designed to communicate declarations or information ; speech acts that assert a proposition or deliver news directly
3. Expressions functioning to inform or assert knowledge ; grammatical constructions that convey clear and direct statements ; communicative acts aimed at explicitly stating facts or opinions

Etymology: "Declaratives" is simply the plural of "declarative," the adjective-turned-noun used for sentences or statements that assert something. The adjective came into English from Middle French "déclaratif," which in turn came from Latin "declarare," meaning to make clear or to set forth plainly. That Latin verb is built from "de-," an intensifying prefix, and "clarare," to make bright or clear, itself from "clarus," meaning clear or bright, the same root that gives English "clarity." The plural form, used in grammar and logic to mean the class of sentences that make statements, is an extension of the adjective's sense. The underlying idea is a light turned on a claim so that it can be seen plainly, which is exactly what a declarative sentence does: it puts a proposition forward for others to accept or reject.

Synonyms: statements, assertions, declarations, affirmations, proclamations

Antonyms: questions, interrogatives, commands, imperatives, exclamations