elaborate
Americanadjective
-
worked out with great care and nicety of detail; executed with great minuteness.
elaborate preparations; elaborate care.
- Synonyms:
- painstaking
- Antonyms:
- simple
-
marked by intricate and often excessive detail; complicated; ornate.
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
adjective
-
planned or executed with care and exactness; detailed
-
marked by complexity, ornateness, or detail
verb
-
(intr; usually foll by on or upon) to add information or detail (to an account); expand (upon)
-
(tr) to work out in detail; develop
-
(tr) to make more complicated or ornate
-
(tr) to produce by careful labour; create
-
(tr) physiol to change (food or simple substances) into more complex substances for use in the body
Related Words
Elaborate, labored, studied apply to that which is worked out in great detail. That which is elaborate is characterized by great, sometimes even excessive, minuteness of detail: elaborate preparations for a banquet. That which is labored is marked by excessive, often forced or uninspired, effort: a labored style of writing. That which is studied is accomplished with care and deliberation, and is done purposely, sometimes even having been rehearsed: a studied pose.
Other Word Forms
- elaborately adverb
- elaborateness noun
- elaboration noun
- elaborative adjective
- elaborator noun
- nonelaborate adjective
- nonelaborately adverb
- nonelaborateness noun
- nonelaborating adjective
- nonelaborative adjective
- quasi-elaborate adjective
- quasi-elaborately adverb
- self-elaborated adjective
- superelaborate adjective
- superelaborately adverb
- superelaborateness noun
- unelaborate adjective
- unelaborated adjective
- unelaborately adverb
- unelaborateness noun
- well-elaborated adjective
Etymology
Origin of elaborate
First recorded in 1575–85; from Latin ēlabōrātus (past participle of ēlabōrāre ) worked out, equivalent to ē- intensive prefix + labōr- “work” + -ātus adjective suffix; e- 1, -ate 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The main house featured an elaborate sculpture of a stallion trampling a dragon in the roundabout out front.
From Los Angeles Times
For all its dramatic speeches and elaborate challenges, The Traitors works best when it reminds us that everyone involved is just tired and hungry.
From Salon
Thirty years ago, a game named Resident Evil ushered in the survival horror genre - a blend of nerve-shredding tension, elaborate puzzles, and intricate inventory management.
From BBC
With this approach, they found that well before the genome fully activates -- a milestone known as Zygotic Genome Activation -- an elaborate 3D scaffold of DNA is already taking shape.
From Science Daily
Founded in 1838, Mount Hope was one of the earliest “garden cemeteries” to feature elaborate headstones, gazebos and benches used for public recreation as well as for burials.
From Literature
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
