Definitions for elaborate
ɪˈlæb ər ɪt; -əˌreɪtelab·o·rate

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:2.3 / 4 votes

1. elaborate, luxuriantadjective

   marked by complexity and richness of detail

   "an elaborate lace pattern"

2. detailed, elaborate, elaboratedverb

   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"

3. elaborate, lucubrate, expatiate, exposit, enlarge, flesh out, expand, expound, dilateverb

   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"

4. elaborateverb

   produce from basic elements or sources; change into a more developed product

   "The bee elaborates honey"

5. complicate, refine, rarify, elaborateverb

   make more complex, intricate, or richer

   "refine a design or pattern"

6. elaborate, work outverb

   work out in detail

   "elaborate a plan"

WiktionaryRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. elaborateverb

   (used with on when used with an object) To give further detail or explanation (about).

2. elaborateadjective

   Highly complex, detailed, or sophisticated

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

3. elaborateadjective

   intricate, fancy, flashy, or showy

   I stared for hours at the elaborate pattern in the rug.

4. Etymology: 1575, from elaboratus, past participle of elaboro, from e- + labor. More at e-, labour.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Elaborateadjective

   Finished with great diligence; performed with great labour.

   Etymology: elaboratus, Latin.

   Formalities of extraordinary zeal and piety are never more studied and elaborate than when politicians most agitate desperate designs. Charles I .

   At least, on her bestow’d
   Too much of ornament, of outward shew
   Elaborate; of inward, less exact. John Milton, Paradise Lost.

   Man is thy theme, his virtue or his rage
   Drawn to the life in each elab’rate page. Edmund Waller.

   Consider the difference between elaborate discourses upon important occasions, delivered to parliaments, and a plain sermon intended for the lower people. Jonathan Swift.

2. To ELABORATEverb

   Etymology: elaboro, Latin.

   1. To produce with labour.

   They in full joy elaborate a sigh. Edward Young.

   2. To heighten and improve by successive endeavours or operations.

   The sap is diversified, and still more and more elaborated and exalted, as it circulates through the vessels of the plant. John Arbuthnot, on Aliments.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. elaborate

   Elaborate refers to something complex, detailed, or intricate. It can also mean the action of explaining or describing something in a detailed or thorough manner.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:4.0 / 2 votes

1. Elaborateadjective

   wrought with labor; finished with great care; studied; executed with exactness or painstaking; as, an elaborate discourse; an elaborate performance; elaborate research

2. Elaborateverb

   to produce with labor

3. Elaborateverb

   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

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. Elaborate

   e-lab′or-āt, v.t. to labour on: to produce with labour: to take pains with: to improve by successive operations.—adj. wrought with labour: done with fullness and exactness: highly finished.—adv. Elab′orately.—ns. Elab′orateness; Elaborā′tion, act of elaborating: refinement: the process by which substances are formed in the organs of animals or plants.—adj. Elab′orative.—ns. Elab′orator, one who elaborates; Elab′oratory=Laboratory. [L. elaborāre, -ātum—e, out, laborāre—labor, labour.]

Matched Categories

1. • Produce

British National Corpus

1. Adjectives Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'elaborate' in Adjectives Frequency: #844

How to pronounce elaborate?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say elaborate in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of elaborate in Chaldean Numerology is: 3

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of elaborate in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7

Examples of elaborate in a Sentence

1. Josiah Stamp, Attibuted to Sir Josiah Stamp (1849 - 1941) HM Collector of Inland Revenue.:

   The government (is) extremely fond of amassing great quantities of statistics. These are raised to the nth degree, the cube roots are extracted, and the results are arranged into elaborate and impressive displays. What must be kept ever in mind, however, is that in every case, the figures are first put down by a village watchman, and he puts down anything he damn well pleases.

2. David Clarke:

   But mystery remains as to who was responsible and why they went to such elaborate lengths to produce this artefact, from my point of view the interest lies not in the object itself but the stories and elaborate conspiracy theories that have grown up around it.

3. Professor Thomas:

   In Samoa, men have elaborate tattoos inked on their thighs, buttocks and lower chest, it is a painful ordeal that requires a man to submit to the authority of the elders. When he emerges, he is celebrated as a hero.

4. Officer Gene Palmer:

   Matt provided me with (an) elaborate painting and information on the illegal acts that inmates were committing within the facility, in turn, I provided him with benefits such as paint, paintbrushes, movement of inmates, hamburger meat, altering the electrical boxes in the catwalk areas.

5. Raymond Chandler:

   Chess is as elaborate a waste of human intelligence as you can find outside an advertising agency.

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