adjective
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known only to connoisseurs; choice or rare
-
studiedly refined or elegant
Etymology
Origin of recherché
First recorded in 1680–90; from French, past participle of rechercher “to search for carefully”; see research
Explanation
Something that's recherche is very fancy, and maybe a little bit rare. Taking an elegant ocean liner from New York to France would be a recherche way to travel. Language can be recherche, when it's especially complicated. If you're writing a story and instead of "She said," you write "She opined" or "She emoted," your style is fairly recherche. And if everyone at a party is wearing jeans, but you wear a tuxedo, your outfit is recherche. In French, recherché means "carefully sought out," from chercher, "to search."
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.
And restorative justice—once a fairly recherché concept on the left—has gotten widespread enough that the backlash is well under way.
From Slate ● Nov. 15, 2021
A Downtown legend since the late ’60s, he kept the recherché hits coming before temporarily abandoning theater for film.
From New York Times ● Jun. 1, 2018
There had to be a happier way to live, a comfort zone somewhere between recherché reductivism and A&E’s “Hoarders.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 2018
Inside, the conversation's covering some pretty recherché territory, but, hey, upstairs, in the covered area the tapes start rolling.
From The Guardian ● May 29, 2012
An antique-looking silver coffee-pot, with cream-jug and sugar-bowl, made Cora's little table look like the most recherché in the land.
From Godey's Lady's Book, Vol. XLII., May 1851 by Various
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
