communicative

communicative — adjective

1. describes someone who willingly talks to others and shares information, thoughts

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

describes someone who willingly talks to others and shares information, thoughts, or feelings without holding back.

Example

During the bus ride, Leila was communicative and told everyone about her trip to Japan.

communicative + during [event] + shares information

Aiko rarely speaks in class; she is not a communicative person by nature.

negative pattern: not communicative

Common collocations
  • communicative with someone
  • communicative about something
  • highly communicative
  • more communicative
  • less communicative
Synonyms
  • talkative

    more informal; focuses on talking a lot rather than sharing meaningful information

  • open

    suggests willingness to share personal or private thoughts

  • forthcoming

    more formal; cooperative about giving information when asked

  • expressive

    emphasises showing feelings or thoughts through words, face, or body language

Antonyms
  • uncommunicative

    direct opposite; unwilling to talk or share information

  • reserved

    more about personality type; keeps to oneself by nature

  • silent

    extreme; says nothing at all

Usage Note

Unlike talkative (which focuses on the quantity of speech), communicative emphasises a willingness to give real information. A person who talks a lot but says nothing personal or useful is talkative but not communicative.

Common Mistakes

My boss is very communicative — she never shares her opinion.
My boss is not very communicative; she rarely shares her opinion.
'communicative' means willing to talk and share, so using it with 'never shares' creates a contradiction.

2. relating to the exchange of information, ideas, or feelings between people, ofte

2.adjective
Definition

relating to the exchange of information, ideas, or feelings between people, often describing skills, tools, or processes used for sharing messages.

Example

Good communicative skills are essential for anyone working in customer service.

collocation: communicative skills

The workshop focused on non-verbal communicative signals such as eye contact and gestures.

non-verbal communicative signals — body language examples

Common collocations
  • communicative skills
  • communicative abilities
  • communicative behaviour
  • communicative signals
  • communicative development
Synonyms
  • informational

    more focused on the factual content being exchanged rather than the process

  • interactional

    emphasises two-way exchange rather than one-way transmission of information

Usage Note

This sense is nearly always used attributively (before a noun). It is common in academic, professional, and technical writing but less frequent in everyday conversation, where communication (e.g. 'communication skills') is often preferred.

3. relating to a method of language teaching where real conversation and pair-work

3.adjective
Definition

relating to a method of language teaching where real conversation and pair-work interaction are the main tools for learning, rather than grammar rules or memorisation.

Example

The language school adopted a communicative approach, so students practise real conversations from day one.

collocation: communicative approach — teaching method

In communicative classrooms, learners spend most of the time talking in pairs or small groups.

communicative classrooms — students interact rather than listen

Common collocations
  • communicative approach
  • communicative method
  • communicative classroom
  • communicative tasks
  • communicative language teaching
Synonyms
  • interactive

    broader term used outside education; any learning that involves back-and-forth activity

  • conversational

    focuses on everyday spoken dialogue rather than all forms of interaction

Antonyms
  • grammar-based

    a method that prioritises rules and written exercises over real communication

  • teacher-centred

    a classroom where the teacher lectures and students listen passively

Usage Note

Nearly always used attributively before nouns such as 'approach', 'method', 'classroom', or 'task'. When referring to the specific teaching philosophy, it is often capitalised: Communicative Language Teaching (CLT).

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All four words describe someone who shares information or feelings, but they differ in what they emphasise. Talkative is the most everyday word and focuses on the amount of speech — a talkative person talks a lot, even about unimportant things. Open highlights a willingness to share personal or private matters; an open person might talk about their fears or hopes. Forthcoming is more formal and suggests that the person cooperates by giving information when asked — a witness in court is forthcoming if they answer fully. Expressive shifts the focus from spoken words to the outward demonstration of feelings, which can happen through facial expressions, tone, or gestures as much as through language. For example, a talkative colleague might chatter about the weather all morning, while an open colleague would tell you about their difficult week, a forthcoming employee would answer the manager's questions in detail, and an expressive friend would react visibly and honestly to your news.

talkative ↗open ↗forthcoming ↗expressive ↗

Common collocations

Adverbs

Etymology

LatinEnglish

The word communicative comes from Latin communicare, meaning 'to share' or 'to make common'. This root also gives us community (people sharing a place) and communicate (to share information). The suffix -ive turns the verb stem into an adjective meaning 'tending to' or 'relating to', so communicative literally means 'tending to share or make common'.