elegant
Americanadjective
-
tastefully fine or luxurious in dress, style, design, etc..
elegant furnishings.
-
gracefully refined and dignified, as in tastes, habits, or literary style.
an elegant young gentleman; an elegant prosodist.
-
graceful in form or movement.
an elegant wave of the hand.
-
appropriate to refined taste.
a man devoted to elegant pursuits.
-
excellent; fine; superior.
an absolutely elegant wine.
-
(of scientific, technical, or mathematical theories, solutions, etc.) gracefully concise and simple; admirably succinct.
adjective
-
tasteful in dress, style, or design
-
dignified and graceful in appearance, behaviour, etc
-
cleverly simple; ingenious
an elegant solution to a problem
Synonym Usage
See fine 1.
Other Word Forms
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); see origin at elect, -ant
Explanation
Nimble ballerinas and long-legged birds are elegant; dump trucks and walruses usually are not. Being graceful and refined are aspects of being elegant. That word first appears in English in the 15th century. It comes, via Old French, from the same Latin source that gave rise to the English word "elect, and it does seem that especially elegant people and things are in a select group. Very stylishly dressed men and women are elegant, and fine restaurants with distinctive delicacies are elegant. Most ordinary places and people can become elegant, though, when dressed up or adorned for special occasions. Even walruses can appear elegant when they're swimming.
Vocabulary lists containing elegant
Call of Beauty: Synonyms for "Beautiful"
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Bronx Masquerade
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
But it was Dean, from the U.K., who spoke first, offering an elegant, heartfelt defense of immigrants.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
A woman approached the stall where Vadym and his wife, who sells porcelain, had laid out what they had left, and asked the price of an elegant lamp with a cream-coloured shade.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
Hilton resided in the elegant pad just before she splashed out a staggering $63.1 million to buy Wahlberg’s former estate.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026
“There’s a lot of coaches that may look at Jacob Shaffelburg and think ‘yeah, he’s not the most elegant technical player,’” Marsch said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
Although the space itself isn’t huge, it’s elegant and has a high-end feel thanks to the warm walnut floors and stark white walls.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
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.
