elaborate

American  

[ih-lab-er-it, ih-lab-uh-reyt] / ɪˈlæb ər ɪt, ɪˈlæb əˌreɪt /

adjective

1. worked out with great care and nicety of detail; executed with great minuteness.

   elaborate preparations; elaborate care.

   Synonyms:

   painstaking

   Antonyms:

   simple

2. marked by intricate and often excessive detail; complicated; ornate.

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verb (used with object)

• elaborates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• elaborated,
  past participle,  past
• elaborating
  present participle

1. to work out carefully or minutely; develop to perfection.

   Synonyms:

   improve, refine

2. to add details to; expand.

3. to produce or develop by labor.

4. Physiology. to convert (food, plasma, etc.) by means of chemical processes into a substance more suitable for use within the body.

verb (used without object)

• elaborates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• elaborated,
  past participle,  past
• elaborating
  present participle

1. to add details in writing, speaking, etc.; give additional or fuller treatment (usually followed by on orupon ).

   to elaborate upon a theme or an idea.

   Synonyms:

   improve, refine

elaborate British  

/ ɪˈlæbərətɪv /

adjective

1. planned or executed with care and exactness; detailed

2. marked by complexity, ornateness, or detail

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verb

1. (intr; usually foll by on or upon) to add information or detail (to an account); expand (upon)

2. (tr) to work out in detail; develop

3. (tr) to make more complicated or ornate

4. (tr) to produce by careful labour; create

5. (tr) physiol to change (food or simple substances) into more complex substances for use in the body

Synonym Usage

Elaborate, labored, studied apply to that which is worked out in great detail. That which is elaborate is characterized by great, sometimes even excessive, minuteness of detail: elaborate preparations for a banquet. That which is labored is marked by excessive, often forced or uninspired, effort: a labored style of writing. That which is studied is accomplished with care and deliberation, and is done purposely, sometimes even having been rehearsed: a studied pose.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• elaborateness
  noun
• elaboration
  noun
• elaborator
  noun
• nonelaborateness
  noun
• superelaborateness
  noun
• unelaborateness
  noun
• elaborative
  adjective
• nonelaborate
  adjective
• nonelaborating
  adjective
• nonelaborative
  adjective
• quasi-elaborate
  adjective
• self-elaborated
  adjective
• superelaborate
  adjective
• unelaborate
  adjective
• unelaborated
  adjective
• well-elaborated
  adjective
• elaborately
  adverb
• nonelaborately
  adverb
• quasi-elaborately
  adverb
• superelaborately
  adverb
• unelaborately
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• elaborating
  present
• elaborated
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• elaborate
  simple
• elaborates
  simple
• have elaborated
  perfect
• has elaborated
  perfect
• am elaborating
  progressive
• are elaborating
  progressive
• is elaborating
  progressive
• have been elaborating
  perfect progressive
• has been elaborating
  perfect progressive

Past

• elaborated
  simple
• had elaborated
  perfect
• was elaborating
  progressive
• were elaborating
  progressive
• had been elaborating
  perfect progressive

Future

• will elaborate
  simple
• will have elaborated
  perfect
• will be elaborating
  progressive
• will have been elaborating
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of elaborate

First recorded in 1575–85; from Latin ēlabōrātus (past participle of ēlabōrāre ) worked out, equivalent to ē- intensive prefix + labōr- “work” + -ātus adjective suffix; see e- ¹, -ate ¹

Explanation

Use the adjective elaborate when you want to describe how something is very detailed or especially complicated, like a devilish prank planned out weeks in advance. The adjective elaborate is used to describe when something is planned with a lot of attention to detail or when something is intricate or detailed itself. The word comes from the Latin elaborare, which means "to produce by labor" but it has come to mean a lot of labor, especially work that is very complicated and precise. To imagine this word, think of a painting with lots of flourishes or a story with many sub-plots and characters that all fit together in extensive ways.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

elaborate elaborates elaborated elaborating

They constructed elaborate barricades with concrete, sandbags and razor wire.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2026

Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov called the talks "extremely frank", saying the Americans "put forward a number of ideas on possible routes to a settlement", but did not elaborate.

From Barron's ● Sep. 6, 2026

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said five people had been hurt in the SBU attack, but did not elaborate on whether they were inside the offices.

From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026

Researchers also observed the archaeon producing chains of budded vesicles along with elaborate tube-like structures.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 3, 2026

I placed his full food dish on the feeding mat at the end of the elaborate obstacle course.

From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas

Singh elaborates on the connection young people felt to hip-hop’s deeper tradition.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 21, 2026

Scanning the room, largely full of teenagers, she elaborates on her last point.

From BBC ● Feb. 16, 2026

Dressed in jeans, a T-shirt and brown suede cowboy boots, Batson elaborates on his idea about genre.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 22, 2026

Gray elaborates by pointing out that when climate change raises sea levels, the impact will not be limited to people living on the coasts.

From Salon ● May 24, 2024

A note elaborates that Tío Alejandro was the one who used to own English saddle horses and taught you four girls to ride.

From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez

On Friday, the Federal Reserve’s chair, Kevin Warsh, elaborated on his plan to curb inflation.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 28, 2026

Davis also elaborated on the shooting to the media, detailing information to reporters in interviews.

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026

In his few public appearances since taking office, Warsh has said the committee is committed to delivering price stability, but has not elaborated on how it would do so or when it may intervene.

From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026

Dr. Stuart Weiss, a Manhattan endocrinologist, elaborated in an email: “Bigger muscles are not necessarily stronger.”

From Slate ● Jul. 16, 2026

“It’s worse than a lemon,” her twin elaborated.

From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall

He said the Journal’s analysis presented “an incomplete picture of the claims outcomes of the vast majority of our customers,” without elaborating.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026

"It's a difficult situation," she said, adding that the US federal government was "helping us out", without elaborating.

From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026

"He is at the intensive care unit. He was admitted last evening and his condition is being managed," she added, without elaborating.

From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026

“Decisions regarding the army will be worked out,” he said, without elaborating.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026

I was elaborating upon my “legend” consistently and Luzan accepted my pathologies.

From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee