elaborate
pronunciation
How to pronounce elaborate in British English:
UK [ɪ'læb(ə)rət]
How to pronounce elaborate in American English:
US [ ɪ'læbəret]
-
- Verb:
- add details, as to an account or idea; clarify the meaning of and discourse in a learned way, usually in writing
- produce from basic elements or sources; change into a more developed product
- make more complex, intricate, or richer
- work out in detail
-
- Adjective:
- marked by complexity and richness of detail
- developed or executed with care and in minute detail
Word Origin
- elaborate
- elaborate: [16] Etymologically, something that is elaborate has been produced by hard work. The word comes from ēlabōrātus, the past participle of Latin ēlabōrāre; this was a compound verb formed from the prefix ex- ‘out’ and labor ‘work’ (source of English labour). The notion of ‘painstaking work’ had passed by the early 17th century into ‘extreme detail’.=> labour
- elaborate (adj.)
- 1590s, "wrought by labor," from Latin elaboratus, past participle of elaborare "to exert oneself" (see elaboration). Meaning "very detailed" is from 1620s, via notion of "produced with great care and attention to detail." Related: elaborateness.
- elaborate (v.)
- c. 1600, "to build up from simple elements," from Latin elaboratus, past participle of elaborare "to labor, endeavor, struggle, work out" (see elaboration). Meaning "to work out in detail" is attested from 1610s. Related: Elaborated; elaborating.
Example
- 1. Human beings have always created elaborate acts of self-presentation .
- 2. In a more elaborate model , foreign and local tastes would differ .
- 3. The whole thing was an elaborate prank !
- 4. But he declines to elaborate .
- 5. Many chinese nationalists and netizens have developed elaborate theories about american plots to thwart china 's rise .