as in zeal
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Recent Examples of élan
Carter and Air Mail crafted the idea for the prize, which will be awarded to one fiction writer and one nonfiction scribe whose work embodies Wolfe’s imaginative, precise and literary elan.
—
Rosemary Feitelberg, Footwear News, 24 June 2025
The rule at these gatherings is to move with a semblance of elan.
—Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 16 May 2025
Rice’s second was struck with such elan that even a gargantuan goalkeeper of Thibaut Courtois’ stature and reach could not get anywhere near.
—Amy Lawrence, New York Times, 9 Apr. 2025
Shaun Grant’s script pulls off this trick with the smooth elan of a conjurer.
—Stephanie Bunbury, Deadline, 15 Feb. 2025
Trending on Billboard What comes next is a clinic in classic Jackson, with the singer popping, locking and skittering across the club’s floor while executing some of his signature spins and fancy footwork while breaking hearts and deftly dispatching would-be assassins with his signature elan.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 30 Oct. 2024
The Orioles have adeptly selected their times to be aggressive on the bases
After more than three hours of tense back and forth Wednesday night in the Bronx, the Orioles finished the Yankees not with their trademark power but with base running elan.
—Childs Walker, Baltimore Sun, 21 June 2024
Oval watches aren’t exactly rare, but they rarely have been executed with such elan and sophistication.
—Allen Farmelo, Robb Report, 9 May 2024
Chucho and Correa become good friends as well, as the principal is won over by the new teacher’s creativity, commitment and elan.
—Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times, 3 Nov. 2023
Rosemary Feitelberg, Footwear News, 24 June 2025
The rule at these gatherings is to move with a semblance of elan.
—Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 16 May 2025
Rice’s second was struck with such elan that even a gargantuan goalkeeper of Thibaut Courtois’ stature and reach could not get anywhere near.
—Amy Lawrence, New York Times, 9 Apr. 2025
Shaun Grant’s script pulls off this trick with the smooth elan of a conjurer.
—Stephanie Bunbury, Deadline, 15 Feb. 2025
Trending on Billboard What comes next is a clinic in classic Jackson, with the singer popping, locking and skittering across the club’s floor while executing some of his signature spins and fancy footwork while breaking hearts and deftly dispatching would-be assassins with his signature elan.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 30 Oct. 2024
The Orioles have adeptly selected their times to be aggressive on the bases
After more than three hours of tense back and forth Wednesday night in the Bronx, the Orioles finished the Yankees not with their trademark power but with base running elan.
—Childs Walker, Baltimore Sun, 21 June 2024
Oval watches aren’t exactly rare, but they rarely have been executed with such elan and sophistication.
—Allen Farmelo, Robb Report, 9 May 2024
Chucho and Correa become good friends as well, as the principal is won over by the new teacher’s creativity, commitment and elan.
—Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times, 3 Nov. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for élan
Noun
-
The zeal of the 1979 revolution is still visible on the tables of the Den of Spies, in the papers true believers re-assembled strand-by-strand.—
Karl Vick,
Time,
22 June 2025
-
Some missionaries, such as Kilian and Boniface, paid with their lives for their holy zeal—the former in the area of what is now Würzburg, the latter in Frisia.—
Bernd Roeck
June 16,
Literary Hub,
16 June 2025
Noun
-
Now, as Silicon Valley investors swarm to back multi-billion dollar defense startups with increasing fervor, Somerindyke is looking to make the jump from munitions middleman to manufacturer.—
David Jeans,
Forbes.com,
1 July 2025
-
In one game, contestants clutch keys suspiciously resembling crucifixes as one player leads others with fervor, for better or worse.—
Michael Ordoña,
Los Angeles Times,
27 June 2025
Noun
-
Which, of course, is how Trump made his own rise, promising, with showman verve, to be the voice of the toiling voiceless who increasingly are in danger of becoming the working poor.—
Anita Chabria,
Los Angeles Times,
27 June 2025
-
And the manner in which Victor presents this narrative, with such verve and confidence and tenderness and pitch-black humor, defies easy description.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
27 June 2025
Noun
-
Perhaps an adherence to Disney’s famously strict rules of the road for presenting its creative products, and/or maybe the smaller-scale economies in this production … whatever the cause, La Mirada’s trademark brio for animating up-beat, up-tempo musical productions is missing.—
Christopher Smith,
Oc Register,
10 June 2025
-
But the twins haven’t lost any of their stylistic brio, upping the ante on gruesome imagery in this much bleaker film.—
Katie Walsh,
Boston Herald,
30 May 2025
Noun
-
The storms have lost gusto as the system moved east.—
Marlene Lenthang,
NBC News,
17 Mar. 2025
-
And, like Arquette, Morrone embraced the constraints of indie filmmaking with gusto.—
Kate Erbland,
IndieWire,
11 June 2025
Noun
-
Severe and repeated cases of scale can cause branches to die and reduce a tree’s overall vigor.—
Tim Johnson,
Chicago Tribune,
6 Apr. 2025
-
As Zidler, Petkoff portrays with vigor a self-serving weasel, albeit with a heart.—
Rick Mauch,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
11 June 2025
Noun
-
Ultimately her ardor for and abiding faith in literature, especially writing by Black women poets and writers, inspired her to found Well-Read Black Girl, an innovative, impactful, and award-winning nonprofit literary organization.—
Donna Seaman
June 18,
Literary Hub,
18 June 2025
-
Every title in her catalog is benefiting from the exciting news, but none seem to have attracted the ardor of her legion of fans quite like Reputation.—
Hugh McIntyre,
Forbes.com,
11 June 2025
Noun
-
When unbound, her hair was a resplendent halo of vitality.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
30 June 2025
-
The vitality of the microorganisms present determines the ultimate success of the pile, and an overly acidic environment can disrupt their activity.—
Anthony Reardon,
Kansas City Star,
27 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“élan.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/%C3%A9lan. Accessed 9 Jul. 2025.
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