elaborate
Verb · AdjectiveOpen English WordNet
Adjective (2)
- marked by complexity and richness of detail“an elaborate lace pattern”Synonyms: luxuriantOpposite plainSimilar fancy
- developed or executed with care and in minute detail“a detailed plan”“the elaborate register of the inhabitants prevented tax evasion — John Buchan”“the carefully elaborated theme”Synonyms: detailedelaboratedOpposite carelessSimilar careful
Verb (4)elaborated, elaborating
- add details, as to an account or idea; clarify the meaning of and discourse in a learned way, usually in writing“She elaborated on the main ideas in her dissertation”Synonyms: lucubrateexpatiateexpositenlargeflesh outexpandexpounddilateMore general clarify, clear upMore specific exemplify, set forth, specify, detail
- produce from basic elements or sources; change into a more developed product“The bee elaborates honey”More general produce, make
- make more complex, intricate, or richer“refine a design or pattern”Synonyms: complicaterefinerarifyMore general change, alterMore specific involve, develop, sophisticate
- work out in detail“elaborate a plan”Synonyms: work outMore general develop, make growSimilar work out, work up
What does it mean? Question 1 of today’s quiz
Translations
Adjective detailed, intricate
- Spanish
- elaborado
- German
- ausführlich
- Italian
- elaborato
- Russian
- подро́бный podróbnyj
- Polish
- drobiazgowy
- Finnish
- yksityiskohtainen
- Icelandic
- ítarlegur
Verb to give further detail or explanation
The main translation for each meaning, from the langtolang.com multilingual dictionary. Each word links to its full entry there.
Webster's Dictionary (1913)
Origin: L. elaboratus, p. p. of elaborare to work out; e out + laborare to labor, labor labor. See Labor.
Wrought with labor; finished with great care; studied; executed with exactness or painstaking; as, an elaborate discourse; an elaborate performance; elaborate research.
Drawn to the life in each elaborate page.— Edmund Waller
Synonyms: Labored; complicated; studied; perfected; high-wrought.
— E·lab′wb-a1′>′o·rate·ly, adverb — E·lab′wb-a1′>′o·rate·ness, noun
1. To produce with labor
They in full joy elaborate a sigh,— Edward Young
2. To perfect with painstaking; to improve or refine with labor and study, or by successive operations; as, to elaborate a painting or a literary work.
The sap is... still more elaborated and exalted as it circulates through the vessels of the plant.— John Arbuthnot
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54