elegant
Americanadjective
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tastefully fine or luxurious in dress, style, design, etc..
elegant furnishings.
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gracefully refined and dignified, as in tastes, habits, or literary style.
an elegant young gentleman; an elegant prosodist.
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graceful in form or movement.
an elegant wave of the hand.
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appropriate to refined taste.
a man devoted to elegant pursuits.
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excellent; fine; superior.
an absolutely elegant wine.
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(of scientific, technical, or mathematical theories, solutions, etc.) gracefully concise and simple; admirably succinct.
adjective
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tasteful in dress, style, or design
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dignified and graceful in appearance, behaviour, etc
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cleverly simple; ingenious
an elegant solution to a problem
Related Words
See fine 1.
Other Word Forms
- elegantly adverb
- hyperelegant adjective
- hyperelegantly adverb
- overelegant adjective
- overelegantly adverb
- superelegant adjective
- superelegantly adverb
- unelegant adjective
- unelegantly adverb
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); elect, -ant
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.
The Edgewater Hotel – Right on Lake Mendota near Capitol Square, this comfortable, elegant hotel makes the most of its setting.
From Salon • Mar. 31, 2026
"It turns out there's a very elegant molecular logic to how that happens."
From Science Daily • Mar. 28, 2026
Meanwhile, the interior of the home features a chef’s kitchen with state-of-the-art appliances, a floor-to-ceiling fireplace, and an elegant double staircase.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 20, 2026
The movie has an elegant, almost symmetrical narrative economy.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 19, 2026
Take away the mysterious name, look past the elegant packaging, ignore the status-symbol maneuvering, and it’s clear: whatnots are just...
From "The School for Whatnots" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
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.
