I. ə̇nˈdikəd.iv, -kətiv adjective
Etymology: Middle French indicatif, from Late Latin indicativus, from Latin indicatus (past participle of indicare to indicate) + -ivus -ive
1. : of, relating to, or constituting a verb form or set of verb forms that represents an attitude toward or concern with a denoted act or state as an objective fact : of, relating to, or constituting a verb form or set of verb forms used invariably in simple declarative sentences and in questions that can be answered by simple declarative sentences and often also in a great variety of other situations
the indicative mood
is writing in “is he writing now” is an indicative verb form
— compare imperative , subjunctive
2. : that indicates : that points out more or less exactly : that reveals fairly clearly or suggests or intimates
the situation was indicative of the fear, bordering on panic, which had seized the people — F.D.Roosevelt
• in·dic·a·tive·ly adverb
II. noun
( -s )
: the indicative mood of a language
writes is in the indicative
: a form in the indicative mood
writes is an indicative