elaborate
/ɪˈlæb.ə.ɹeɪt/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.06 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Complex, detailed, or sophisticated.
Example Sentences
- "After reading a long, elaborate description, I was impressed but no wiser."
- "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."
- "[…] 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."
- "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."
- "What do you mean you didn't come home last night? Would you care to elaborate?"
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.
Word Breakdown
- Root: ēlabōrātus
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ɪˈlæb.ə.ɹeɪt/
- British English: /ɪˈlæb.ə.ɹeɪt/
Usage
Inflected Forms
more elaborate (comparative)
most elaborate (superlative)
elaborates (present, singular)
elaborating (participle, present)
elaborated (participle, past)
elaborated (past)