elucidate
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
verb
Usage
What are other ways to say elucidate?
To elucidate something is to throw light upon it or make it clear. How does elucidate compare to synonyms explain, expound, and interpret? Find out on Thesaurus.com.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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unelucidatedadjective
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elucidativeadjective
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nonelucidativeadjective
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unelucidativeadjective
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unelucidatingadjective
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elucidatornoun
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elucidationnoun
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nonelucidatingadjective
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has elucidatedperfect 3rd person singular
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have elucidatedperfect
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am elucidatingprogressive 1st person singular
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has been elucidatingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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are elucidatingprogressive
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have been elucidatingperfect progressive
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is elucidatingprogressive 3rd person singular
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elucidatingparticiple
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elucidatessingular 3rd person
Past
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had elucidatedperfect
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were elucidatingprogressive plural
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was elucidatingprogressive singular
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had been elucidatingperfect progressive
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elucidatedparticiple
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elucidatedsimple
Future
Etymology
Origin of elucidate
First recorded in 1560–70; from Late Latin ēlūcidātus “enlightened” (past participle of ēlūcidāre ), equivalent to ē- intensive prefix + lūcid(us) “bright, shining, clear, clear to the understanding” + -ātus adjective suffix; see origin at e- 1, lucid, -ate 1
Explanation
If you elucidate something, you explain it very clearly. If you don't understand fractions, a visit to the pie shop may elucidate the subject for you. Elucidate, meaning "to make clear," is from the Late Latin elucidare, from the Latin prefix e-, "thoroughly," and lucidus, "clear, bright." See the word lucid in elucidate? That's an adjective which describes someone who thinks clearly or something that is clear enough to understand.
Vocabulary lists containing elucidate
Let There Be Light: Lum and Luc
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To Kill a Mockingbird
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"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, Chapters 16–19
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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.
