elaborate

[ adjective ih-lab-er-it; verb ih-lab-uh-reyt ]

adjective

1. worked out with great care and nicety of detail; executed with great minuteness:

   elaborate preparations; elaborate care.

   Synonyms: painstaking

   Antonyms: simple

2. marked by intricate and often excessive detail; complicated; ornate.

verb (used with object)

, e·lab·o·rat·ed, e·lab·o·rat·ing.

1. to work out carefully or minutely; develop to perfection.

   Synonyms: improve, refine

2. to add details to; expand.
3. to produce or develop by labor.
4. Physiology. to convert (food, plasma, etc.) by means of chemical processes into a substance more suitable for use within the body.

verb (used without object)

, e·lab·o·rat·ed, e·lab·o·rat·ing.

1. to add details in writing, speaking, etc.; give additional or fuller treatment (usually followed by on or upon ):

   to elaborate upon a theme or an idea.

   Synonyms: improve, refine

elaborate

/ ɪˈlæbərətɪv /

adjective

1. planned or executed with care and exactness; detailed
2. marked by complexity, ornateness, or detail

verb

1. intr; usually foll by on or upon to add information or detail (to an account); expand (upon)
2. tr to work out in detail; develop
3. tr to make more complicated or ornate
4. tr to produce by careful labour; create
5. tr physiol to change (food or simple substances) into more complex substances for use in the body

Derived Forms

• eˈlaborately, adverb
• eˈlaboˌrator, noun
• eˈlaborateness, noun
• eˌlaboˈration, noun
• elaborative, adjective

Other Words From

• e·labo·rate·ly adverb
• e·labo·rate·ness noun
• e·labo·rative adjective
• e·labo·rator noun
• none·labo·rate adjective
• none·labo·rate·ly adverb
• none·labo·rate·ness noun
• none·labo·rating adjective
• none·labo·rative adjective
• quasi-e·labo·rate adjective
• quasi-e·labo·rate·ly adverb
• self-e·labo·rated adjective
• super·e·labo·rate adjective
• super·e·labo·rate·ly adverb
• super·e·labo·rate·ness noun
• une·labo·rate adjective
• une·labo·rate·ly adverb
• une·labo·rate·ness noun
• une·labo·rated adjective
• well-e·labo·rated adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of elaborate¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of elaborate¹

C16: from Latin ēlabōrāre to take pains, from labōrāre to toil

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

Like many recent trends, they found initial popularity among K-pop fans, who created elaborate digital collages of bands.

From MIT Technology Review

There’s paradoxical thinking, or the elaborated social identity model.

From Quartz

This is exactly our time as advertisers to elaborate on the challenges that our audience can overcome by using the product.

From Search Engine Watch

It is difficult to execute elaborate productions and remain socially distant.

From Digiday

It might well mean data encryption, but the EDPC didn’t elaborate.

From Digiday

In an email exchange a friend said many had repeated this same succinct review but they could never elaborate.

From The Daily Beast

A senior Iranian official in Pakistan later confirmed the strike took place, declining to elaborate.

From The Daily Beast

Hitchcock loved to tell stories, elaborate, complicated rough drafts for movies he would never make.

From The Daily Beast

His most elaborate camera maneuvers seemed almost diabolical in their complexity.

From The Daily Beast

And he tells Bob Boyle to start making sketches for the more elaborate sequences.

From The Daily Beast

The same two impulses are said to lie at the root of the elaborate art of personal adornment developed by savages.

From Project Gutenberg

The attempt at social change threatens a social revolution in which the whole elaborate mechanism would burst into fragments.

From Project Gutenberg

It contained an elaborate account of all the comets recorded in history , down to the year 1665.

From Project Gutenberg

The menu was long, elaborate and imposing; equalled only by the toast list, which contained no less than sixteen separate toasts.

From Project Gutenberg

In preparation for this event Ki Pak had made careful and elaborate arrangements.

From Project Gutenberg