Dictionary
Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.
elaborate en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- /ɪˈlæb.(ə.)ɹət/
- (US) audio
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.
Meanings
-
Complex, detailed, or sophisticated.
After reading a long, elaborate description, I was impressed but no wiser.
-
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.
1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter I, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:
Forms
Deriveds
elaboration · elaborateness · elaborately · superelaborate · unelaborate · overelaborate · inelaborate
Synonyms
fussy · busy
Translations (45)
bg сложен (detailed) · tr ayrıntılı (detailed) · bg подробен (detailed) · it elaborato (detailed) · bg изкусен (flashy or fancy) · ar مُفَصَّل (detailed) · it intricato (flashy or fancy) · da detaljeret (detailed) · es elaborado (detailed) · ru тща́тельно сде́ланный (detailed) · sv detaljerad (detailed) · tr detaylı (detailed) · et detailne (detailed) · fi huoliteltu (flashy or fancy) · pt elaborado (flashy or fancy) · ru скрупулёзный (detailed) · ru проду́манный (detailed) · ru подро́бный (detailed) · cmn 详尽 (detailed) · gv yl-chast (detailed) · ru доскона́льный (detailed) · fi yksityiskohtainen (detailed) · nl intrigerend (flashy or fancy) · tr mufassal (detailed) · fi perusteellinen (detailed) · tr teferruatlı (detailed) · it dettagliato (detailed) · cmn 复杂 (detailed) · ru иску́сный (flashy or fancy) · pl drobiazgowy (detailed) · et rikkalik (flashy or fancy) · fi taidokas (flashy or fancy) · pt detalhado (detailed) · de durchdacht (detailed) · hi विस्तृत (detailed) · gl detallado (detailed) · tr tafsilatlı (detailed) · nl diepgaand (detailed) · hu alaposan kidolgozott (detailed) · et üksikasjalik (detailed) · nl gedetailleerd (detailed) · de ausführlich (detailed) · is ítarlegur (detailed) · hu mélyreható (detailed) · ru замыслова́тый (flashy or fancy)
elaborate en · VERB
Pronunciation
- /əˈlæb.ə.ɹæɪt/ (New-Zealand)
- /ɪˈlæb.ə.ɹæɪt/ (Australia)
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ɪˈlæb.ə.ɹeɪt/ (Canada, General-American, Received-Pronunciation)
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.
Meanings
-
(transitive) 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.
1871, “Bismarck”, in All the Year Round, volume 5, page 129: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.
2009, Irene Silverblatt, “Foreword”, in Andrew B. Fisher, Matthew D. O'hara, editors, Imperial Subjects: Race and Identity in Colonial Latin America, page xi:
-
(followed by the prepositions on or upon, intransitive, sometimes) To expand/enlarge in detail.
Could you elaborate on the plot for your novel for me?
What do you mean you didn't come home last night? Would you care to elaborate?
Forms
Deriveds
elaboration · elaborated sap · elaborator · elaborater
Synonyms
work out · explicate
Translations (46)
ca aprofundir (to give further detail or explanation) · et välja töötama (to give further detail or explanation) · ru разраба́тывать (to develop in detail or complexity — see also work out) · th ขยายความ (to give further detail or explanation) · kk дамыту (to give further detail or explanation) · it dettagliare (to give further detail or explanation) · uk розробля́ти (to develop in detail or complexity — see also work out) · fi käsitellä yksityiskohtaisemmin (to give further detail or explanation) · et viimistlema (to give further detail or explanation) · it elaborare (to develop in detail or complexity — see also work out) · sv elaborera (to give further detail or explanation) · bg доразвивам (to give further detail or explanation) · fi täsmentää (to give further detail or explanation) · cs rozpracovat (to develop in detail or complexity — see also work out) · fr élaborer (to develop in detail or complexity — see also work out) · es profundizar (to give further detail or explanation) · ru вдава́ться в подро́бности (to give further detail or explanation) · fi kehitellä (to give further detail or explanation) · es argumentar (to give further detail or explanation) · ru конкретизи́ровать (to give further detail or explanation) · pl rozwinąć (to give further detail or explanation) · fi selittää tarkemmin (to give further detail or explanation) · cs rozvést (to give further detail or explanation) · ru разраба́тывать (to give further detail or explanation) · es ahondar (to give further detail or explanation) · de ausführen (to give further detail or explanation) · th ขยาย (to give further detail or explanation) · hy մանրամասնել (to give further detail or explanation) · ru уточня́ть (to give further detail or explanation) · nl uitweiden (to give further detail or explanation) · sv utveckla (to give further detail or explanation) · cs rozpracovat (to give further detail or explanation) · hu kidolgoz (to develop in detail or complexity — see also work out) · it approfondire (to give further detail or explanation) · ru развива́ть (to give further detail or explanation) · de ausarbeiten (to develop in detail or complexity — see also work out) · uk розроби́ти (to develop in detail or complexity — see also work out) · bg изпипвам (to give further detail or explanation) · kk тәптіштеу (to give further detail or explanation) · hu kifejt (to give further detail or explanation) · ru разрабо́тать (to develop in detail or complexity — see also work out) · hi विस्तृत (to give further detail or explanation) · fr approfondir (to give further detail or explanation) · pt argumentar (to give further detail or explanation) · fa شرح دادن (to give further detail or explanation) · el εμβαθύνω (to give further detail or explanation)