elaborate
adjectiveverbcommon in dialogue
- Canada//ɪˈlæb.ə.ɹeɪt//
- Australia//ɪˈlæb.ə.ɹæɪt//
- New Zealand//əˈlæb.ə.ɹæɪt//
- //ɪˈlæb.(ə.)ɹət//
Complex, detailed, or sophisticated.
adjective
- 1
Complex, detailed, or sophisticated.
After reading a long, elaborate description, I was impressed but no wiser.
- 2
Intricate, fancy, flashy, or showy.
I stared for hours at the elaborate pattern in the rug.
The house was a big elaborate limestone affair, evidently new. Winter sunshine sparkled on lace-hung casement, on glass marquise, and the burnished bronze foliations of grille and door.
Etymology
1575, from Late Latin ēlabōrātus (“worked out”), past participle of ēlabōrō (“to work out”), from ē- (“out, forth, fully”) + labor (“work, toil, exertion”). More at e-, labour.
verb
- 1
Тo develop in detail or complexity.
[…] by the time of the subsequent coronation, when the Prussian king put the crown on his own head in child-like belief of the obsolete doctrine called divine right, the untiring statesman had elaborated his scheme of reform.
The notion of blood purity was first elaborated in Europe, where it was used to separate Old Christians from Spain’s New Christians—women and men of Jewish and Muslim origin whose ancestors had converted to Christianity.
- 2
To expand/enlarge in detail.
What do you mean you didn't come home last night? Would you care to elaborate?
Could you elaborate on the plot for your novel for me?
Forms
- comparative
- more elaborate
- superlative
- most elaborate
- past tense
- elaborated
- past participle
- elaborated
- present participle
- elaborating
- third person singular
- elaborates
elaborate · Complex, detailed, or sophisticated.
Elaine · A female given name from Ancient Greek.elastic · Capable of stretching; particularly, capable of stretching so…elbow · The joint between the upper arm and the forearm.