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.
The left-hander played inventive scoops, powerful drives and elegant flicks and when he departed the stage the crowd rose to him.
From BBC
The stakes were higher and layered with the existential absurdity of abrupt shifts, which he carried with an elegant, slightly seething temperament that has found its expression in the work.
From Los Angeles Times
Thierry Henry was equal parts elegant and clinical, effortlessly eating up turf, striding through defences like a sixth-former schooling year sevens, scoring worldies and va va vindicating his spot here.
From BBC
A fireplace sat in one corner, the wood burned down to embers, and on the opposite side of the room was an elegant wood desk.
From Literature
Her yellow, floor-length gown was in keeping with her classic sophisticated and elegant red carpet style.
From BBC
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.
