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
- self-elaboration noun
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”; 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.
Thomas Crow’s “Murder in the Rue Marat” is a granular account of the making of a masterpiece and a personal elaboration on its afterlife.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 21, 2025
Lilly did not respond to a request for elaboration on the point.
From Barron's • Nov. 17, 2025
“We had surveillance operations,” Kinch said, without elaboration.
From Salon • Jan. 7, 2025
My response to “how’s work” has often dwindled to a simple “fine,” without much elaboration.
From Slate • Oct. 31, 2024
But possibly either of these statements, without elaboration, can lead to an overly clear-cut line of conjecture.
From "Franny and Zooey" by J. D. Salinger
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.
