elegant

[ el-i-guhnt ]

/ ˈɛl ɪ gənt /

SEE MORE 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.

Nearby words

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 MORE SYNONYMS FOR elegant ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

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

Can be confused

elegant eloquent

Synonym study

1. See fine¹.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

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

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