elaboration
Americannoun
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an act or instance of elaborating.
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the state of being elaborated; elaborateness.
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something that is elaborated.
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Psychiatry. an unconscious process of expanding and embellishing a detail, especially while recalling and describing a representation in a dream so that latent content of the dream is brought into a logical and comprehensible order.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of elaboration
First recorded in 1570–80; from Latin ēlabōrātiōn-, stem of ēlabōrātiō, from ēlabōrāt(us) “worked out” (past participle of ēlabōrāre “to work out, produce through labor”; see elaborate) + -iō -ion
Explanation
Elaboration means "adding details." Kids are famous for answering "good" when asked how school was and "nothing" when asked what they did there. If pressed for elaboration, they might talk about recess, lunch, and even what they learned. Elaboration is the result of going that extra mile, such as when your history teacher asks for five paragraphs on the Fall of Rome, and you write three pages, or when your friend, instead of giving you a regular birthday card, creates a mini-scrapbook with photos and mementos from the past year. As you can see, elaboration takes time and energy because you go into greater detail than usual.
Vocabulary lists containing elaboration
Common Core Grades 7–8, List 3
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Common Core Grade 6, List 3
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Common Core Grades 9–10, List 3
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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.
Elaboration: There are only two hits for this, and neither is referring to her compassion.
From Washington Post • Oct. 19, 2018
Elaboration: There is no “c” or “s” in “negotiation.”
From Washington Post • Feb. 26, 2018
Elaboration: Interestingly, some dictionaries now define “liberry” as a “nonstandard” pronunciation, which is the first step toward acceptance.
From Washington Post • Feb. 26, 2018
Asking the right questions instead of seeking the “correct” answer ultimately led Petty and Cacioppo to develop a theory—the Elaboration Likelihood Model—that resolved apparent contradictions in the literature and fundamentally changed the science of persuasion.
From Scientific American • Sep. 16, 2013
Coherence Relation Elaboration Example Herons have one thing in their favor: they are total opportunists.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
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.
