elegant

[el-i-guhnt]

adjective

1. tastefully fine or luxurious in dress, style, design, etc..

   elegant furnishings.

2. gracefully refined and dignified, as in tastes, habits, or literary style.

   an elegant young gentleman; an elegant prosodist.

   Synonyms: courtly, polished

3. graceful in form or movement.

   an elegant wave of the hand.

4. appropriate to refined taste.

   a man devoted to elegant pursuits.

5. excellent; fine; superior.

   an absolutely elegant wine.

6. (of scientific, technical, or mathematical theories, solutions, etc.) gracefully concise and simple; admirably succinct.

elegant

/ ˈɛlɪɡənt /

adjective

1. tasteful in dress, style, or design

2. dignified and graceful in appearance, behaviour, etc

3. cleverly simple; ingenious

   an elegant solution to a problem

Other Word Forms

• elegantly adverb
• hyperelegant adjective
• hyperelegantly adverb
• overelegant adjective
• overelegantly adverb
• superelegant adjective
• superelegantly adverb
• unelegant adjective
• unelegantly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of elegant¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of elegant¹

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

Synonym Study

See fine ¹.

Example Sentences

Flames also tore through Rogers’ white-and-green horse stable, which had an elegant central rotunda.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Four years ago, Sánchez was enjoying a Cuban cigar in an elegant cigar lounge in Newport Beach when the manager introduced him to a friend, Nicah Odood, who had a problem.

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She was elegant, with white hair and red lipstick and black clothes.

Read more on Literature

The pair were allowed little additional input when the justices met about a month and a half later in their elegant wood-paneled conference room to reach a decision on the case.

Read more on Salon

The book’s finest pieces wrangle, in elegant prose, with humanity’s contradictions; the weaker ones indulge in name-dropping, footnotes and op-ed invective.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• chic 
• classic 
• delicate 
• dignified 
• exquisite 
• fancy 
• fashionable 
• graceful 
• grand 
• handsome 
• luxurious 
• neat 
• opulent 
• ornate 
• polished 
• refined 
• silk-stocking 
• simple 
• stately 
• stylish