elaboration

[ ih-lab-uh-rey-shuhn ]

/ ɪˌlæb əˈreɪ ʃən /

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See synonyms for elaboration on Thesaurus.com

noun

an act or instance of elaborating.

the state of being elaborated; elaborateness.

something that is elaborated.

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.

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Origin of elaboration

1570–80; <Latin ēlabōrātiōn- (stem of ēlabōrātiō), equivalent to ēlabōrāt- (see elaborate) + -iōn--ion

OTHER WORDS FROM elaboration

self-e·lab·o·ra·tion, noun

Words nearby elaboration

el, ELA, El Aaiún, elaborate, elaborated code, elaboration, elaenia, elaeoptene, elaeothesium, Elagabalus, Elaine

How to use elaboration in a sentence

Key to Douglass’s speech was his elaboration of exactly how the Constitution enabled a President to thwart democracy.
Why We Must Hear the Warning in Frederick Douglass' 'Sources of Danger to the Republic' Today|Robert S. Levine|September 24, 2021|Time
The FBI said without elaboration that it also recovered a document titled “Making Plastic Explosives from Bleach,” redacting the instructions in a photo exhibit.
Self-styled militia members planned on storming the U.S. Capitol days in advance of Jan. 6 attack, court documents say|Spencer Hsu, Tom Jackman, Devlin Barrett|January 20, 2021|Washington Post
Elaboration helps you combine new information with other things you know.
Top 10 tips on how to study smarter, not longer|Kathiann Kowalski|September 9, 2020|Science News For Students
Lack of elaboration is a virus that continually infects the book, sometimes having a sickening effect on the reader.
Cornel West’s Disappointing Decline|David Masciotra|October 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST

It is neither the time nor the place to ask for elaboration.
The Stacks: The Eyes of Winter: Paul Newman at 70|Peter Richmond|October 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
These first two cases appear mainly as preamble, summarized without much elaboration.
Ian McEwan's New Novel Keeps Life at Arm's Length|Nick Romeo|September 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Perhaps, he says without elaboration, "their recollections may be imperfect."
Rumsfeld, Still Defiant|Howard Kurtz|February 2, 2011|DAILY BEAST
“The conspiracy laws are broad,” the official said without elaboration.
Did U.S. Help 'Merchant of Death'?|Philip Shenon|November 20, 2010|DAILY BEAST
These changes take place slowly at first, and more rapidly as the organs fitted for the elaboration of its food are developed.
Elements of Agricultural Chemistry|Thomas Anderson
He was slow and fastidious in composition, and the poem suffered from over-elaboration.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 2|Various
The book pretended to be an elaboration of Dumarsais' essay on the Philosophe published in the Nouvelles liberts de penser, 1750.
Baron d'Holbach|Max Pearson Cushing
Like Beowulf it is elaborate, but it is the elaboration of art rather than of feeling.
The Translations of Beowulf|Chauncey Brewster Tinker
All this elaboration of elegance had fitting surroundings, and the case was worthy of its contents.
The Old Furniture Book|N. Hudson Moore