elegant

[ el-i-guhnt ]

/ ˈɛl ɪ gənt /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR elegant ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

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.

Words nearby elegant

electuary, eledoisin, eleemosynary, elegance, elegancy, elegant, elegiac, elegiac couplet, elegiac pentameter, elegiac stanza, elegist

Origin of elegant

1400–50; late Middle English (< Middle French) < Latin ēlegant- (stem of ēlegāns) tasteful, choice, equivalent to ēleg- (akin to ēlig- select; see elect) + -ant- -ant; orig. present participle of lost v.

SYNONYMS FOR elegant

2 polished, courtly.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR elegant ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM elegant

el·e·gant·ly, adverbhy·per·el·e·gant, adjectivehy·per·el·e·gant·ly, adverbo·ver·el·e·gant, adjective

o·ver·el·e·gant·ly, adverbsu·per·el·e·gant, adjectivesu·per·el·e·gant·ly, adverbun·el·e·gant, adjectiveun·el·e·gant·ly, adverb

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH elegant

elegant eloquent

synonym study for elegant

1. See fine¹.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Examples from the Web for elegant

I did a piece for Elle about the effort to remake her into an elegant presence fashion-wise.
Daphne Merkin on Lena Dunham, Book Criticism, and Self-Examination|Mindy Farabee|December 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Perhaps, like Hawking searching for his elegant equation, filmmakers will never find the answer.
Why Can’t Movies Capture Genius?|Clive Irving|December 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They seem to have service for eight of these elegant blue-and-white plates.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days|David Freeman|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But many spirits experts have long lauded Japanese whiskies as formidable—even the most elegant—drams.
Watch Out, Scotland! Japanese Whisky Is on the Rise|Kayleigh Kulp|November 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST

That means Japanese whiskies are beautifully balanced and elegant; they touch and develop on every sensor on the palate.
Watch Out, Scotland! Japanese Whisky Is on the Rise|Kayleigh Kulp|November 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
As the wealth of the leading planters increased they gradually surrounded themselves with elegant homes and sumptuous furnishings.
Patrician and Plebeian|Thomas J. Wertenbaker
He was short rather than tall, his hand was delicate, his foot slender and elegant.
The Companions of Jehu|Alexandre Dumas, pre
One glance at the woman showed her to be elegant in dress and of a refined appearance.
The Crime of the French Caf and Other Stories|Nicholas Carter
And Miss Winter opened a French exercise-book, certainly containing anything but elegant specimens of penmanship.
The Daisy Chain|Charlotte Yonge
It was an elegant little creature, with a skin like its mother, only more brilliant--it was full of graceful antics.
The Swiss Family Robinson; or Adventures in a Desert Island|Johann David Wyss

British Dictionary definitions for elegant

elegant

/ (ˈɛlɪɡənt) /

adjective

tasteful in dress, style, or design

dignified and graceful in appearance, behaviour, etc

cleverly simple; ingeniousan elegant solution to a problem

Derived forms of elegant

elegantly, adverb

Word Origin for elegant

C16: from Latin ēlegāns tasteful, related to ēligere to select; see elect

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012