Dictionary

élan en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /eɪˈlɑːn/
• /eɪˈlæn/

Etymology

Borrowed from French élan.

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) Spirit; zeal; ardor.
   • The goal of the Cultural Revolution was to radicalize the whole society, to create mass participation at all levels of decision-making, and to restore the revolutionary élan of the 1940s. 1971, Deborah S. Davis, “The Cultural Revolution in Wuhan”, in The Cultural Revolution in the Provinces, Harvard University Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 159:
   • Sam, carried away by the élan of the performance, was unable to resist joining them. 1916, Booth Tarkington, Penrod and Sam, page 197:
   • A pocket calculator was the closest that most 1970s consumers came to owning anything with computational power, even if all it could do was basic math. Those tiny gizmos seemed enticing because they offered rare glimpses into the enigmatic world of technology, and the Sinclair Executive also had the élan of being the first one. 2012 March 4, Alice Rawsthorn, “Farewell, Pocket Calculator?”, in The New York Times:
2. (countable, uncountable) Grace; style (especially apparently effortless).
   • Mary Ellen had never seen any woman, with the exception of Abigail, take such an active role in the company of men, though Abigail did it with élan and never directly or conspicuously. 2001 10, Daniel Alef, Pale Truth, Titans of Fortune Publishing, →ISBN, page 189:
   • Despite [the] Holmesian frame story, the overall voice of the series is fresh and original, Horowitz writing with the effortless élan that distinguishes all of his work. 2018 November 1, Anthony Horowitz, quoting Booklist, The Sentence is Death: A mind-bending murder mystery from the bestselling author of THE WORD IS MURDER, Random House, →ISBN:

Forms

Relateds

élan vital · lance · lancet

Translations (17)

sv stil och fart (spirit, zeal) · fi palo (spirit, zeal) · fi into (spirit, zeal) · de Elan (spirit, zeal) · sv geist (spirit, zeal) · pt élan (spirit, zeal) · fi kiihko (spirit, zeal) · fi säpinä (spirit, zeal) · mi whitawhita (spirit, zeal) · nl elan (spirit, zeal) · mi matangareka (spirit, zeal) · mi rika (spirit, zeal) · ro elan (spirit, zeal) · pt elã (spirit, zeal) · sv schvung (spirit, zeal) · mi wana (spirit, zeal) · fr élan (spirit, zeal)