elegant
Americanadjective
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tastefully fine or luxurious in dress, style, design, etc..
elegant furnishings.
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gracefully refined and dignified, as in tastes, habits, or literary style.
an elegant young gentleman; an elegant prosodist.
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graceful in form or movement.
an elegant wave of the hand.
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appropriate to refined taste.
a man devoted to elegant pursuits.
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excellent; fine; superior.
an absolutely elegant wine.
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(of scientific, technical, or mathematical theories, solutions, etc.) gracefully concise and simple; admirably succinct.
adjective
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tasteful in dress, style, or design
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dignified and graceful in appearance, behaviour, etc
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cleverly simple; ingenious
an elegant solution to a problem
Related Words
See fine 1.
Other Word Forms
- elegantly adverb
- hyperelegant adjective
- hyperelegantly adverb
- overelegant adjective
- overelegantly adverb
- superelegant adjective
- superelegantly adverb
- unelegant adjective
- unelegantly adverb
Etymology
Origin of elegant
First recorded in 1400–50; Late Middle English (from Middle French ), from Latin ēlegant- (stem of ēlegāns ) “tasteful, choice,” equivalent to ēleg- (akin to ēlig- “select”) + -ant- a suffix forming adjectives from verbs; originally the present participle of ēlegāre (unattested); elect, -ant
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.
A former colleague used to talk about the time he was interviewing Mel Brooks in a hotel lobby when the elevator opened and an elegant figure walked out.
In 2023, an architecture firm proposed an elegant Colosseum-like rugby stadium in Bath, England, keeping with the city’s historic Georgian architecture.
Listing images reveal a tasteful interior, with a neutral, elegant palette used throughout the home, which is filled with natural light.
From MarketWatch
Within minutes of the announcement, memories of the elegant and tanned designer began to flood social media.
From Barron's
Marx shares with us his ideas for a most elegant Sunday in L.A.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
