Elaborate

/ɪˈlæb.(ə.)ɹət/ · adjective

Meaning

Complex, detailed, or sophisticated..

Definitions by Sense

1. Complex, detailed, or sophisticated.
2. Intricate, fancy, flashy, or showy.
3. (transitive) Тo develop in detail or complexity.
4. (intransitive, sometimes followed by the prepositions on or upon) To expand/enlarge in detail.

Example Sentences

After reading a long, elaborate description, I was impressed but no wiser.

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.

[…] 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.

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?

Synonyms for elaborate

Antonyms for elaborate

Related Words

Word Forms

• more elaborate
• most elaborate
• elaborates
• elaborating
• elaborated

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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