expressive (adj.)

A term sometimes used in SEMANTICS as part of a classification of types of MEANING. The expressive meaning of an EXPRESSION refers both to its emotional CONTENT and to any identity it might have in terms of the personality or individual creativity of the user (as in much poetic LANGUAGE). It is usually contrasted with DESCRIPTIVE and ‘social’ meaning. Other terms which overlap with ‘expressive’ include AFFECTIVE, CONNOTATIVE and EMOTIVE. The term is also used in the theory of SPEECH ACTS to refer to a type of UTTERANCE where the speaker expresses his or her feelings, e.g. I apologize/sympathize/ regret.