Illustrativen

Illustrativen is a German adjective form meaning illustrative or serving to illustrate. It is used to describe things that help explain or visualize a concept, such as diagrams, examples, or figures.

In German, adjectives change endings according to case, number, and the presence of a determiner. The form illustrativen is the plural ending used in contexts with a definite article or other determiner that signals a weak declension, for example die illustrativen Diagramme (nominative plural) or den illustrativen Diagrammen (dative plural). The genitive plural would be der illustrativen Diagramme, and without a determiner the strong declension would yield illustrated forms such as illustrative Diagramme in nominative/accusative plural.

Common collocations include illustrativen Diagrammen, illustrativen Beispielen, and illustrativen Abbildungen. These phrases frequently appear in academic writing, technical documentation, and presentations, where they indicate items designed to illustrate a point or provide concrete illustrations of data, procedures, or concepts.

Etymology traces illustrativ back to Latin illustrare “to illuminate, to make clear,” with the element -iv- retaining the sense of illustration. The suffix -en in illustrativen reflects standard German plural adjective endings under the definite article pattern.

See also: illustrativ, Beispiel, Diagramm, Abbildung, Illustration.

Example sentences:

- Die illustrativen Diagramme veranschaulichen die Trends deutlich.

- In den illustrativen Beispielen wird der Ansatz Schritt für Schritt erklärt.

- Die Abbildungen dienen als illustrativen Ergänzungen zum Text.

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