as in zeal
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Recent Examples of élan
Schwartzman, though, is comic gold as an inappropriate inlaw while Sessa brightens things up as a broken-hearted sop who insinuates himself with all the elan of a Lab puppy into the neighbor’s next door household.
—
Randy Myers, Mercury News, 3 Dec. 2025
Khrushchev sought to revive revolutionary elan and push the USSR to the final stage of history, the transition from socialism to communism, during which the state apparatus would finally wither away.
—Benjamin Nathans
september 24, Literary Hub, 24 Sep. 2025
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
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
Randy Myers, Mercury News, 3 Dec. 2025
Khrushchev sought to revive revolutionary elan and push the USSR to the final stage of history, the transition from socialism to communism, during which the state apparatus would finally wither away.
—Benjamin Nathans
september 24, Literary Hub, 24 Sep. 2025
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for élan
Noun
-
Trump knows it, but still took a stab from his privileged bully pulpit in Switzerland with the zeal of neocolonialism.—
Philip Elliott,
Time,
21 Jan. 2026
-
The appointees competed to demonstrate loyalist zeal.—
Dexter Filkins,
New Yorker,
12 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The Carolina Panthers lost the game but won a war Saturday night, rekindling the fervor that their fan base felt 10 years ago.—
Scott Fowler,
Charlotte Observer,
11 Jan. 2026
-
The cupcake fervor hit its peak when Crumbs, which had started as a single bakery on Manhattan’s Upper West Side in 2003, went public in a reverse merger worth $66 million in 2011.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The Sun is marching into your sign, beginning Aquarius Season with the unique verve your sign is known for.—
Tarot.com,
Hartford Courant,
19 Jan. 2026
-
His observations about the barbarity of women’s beauty regimens aren’t exactly new, but they are acted out with enthusiasm and verve.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
16 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The killer’s obsession with achieving glory isn’t the only element that feels startlingly modern, with anachronistic touches lending the series an unusual brio.—
Inkoo Kang,
New Yorker,
8 Dec. 2025
-
Sir Tom Stoppard, a titan of modern theater and film, whose award-winning works balanced wit and brio with a true curiosity for the depth of human emotion, has died at the age of 88.—
Anna Cafolla,
Vogue,
29 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
With several new faces on the roster, the Hawks played with even more gusto.—
Lauren Williams,
AJC.com,
12 Jan. 2026
-
The kind of passion and effort and gusto that the Leafs looked completely void of through November and December.—
Joshua Kloke,
New York Times,
9 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Flowers that are well-suited to your garden’s growing conditions and that have a tendency to spread aggressively will do so with vigor.—
Tim Johnson,
Chicago Tribune,
18 Jan. 2026
-
Fertilizer is a great way to improve the vigor of pothos, but too much can do more harm than good.—
Madeline Buiano,
Martha Stewart,
15 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Yet even as Pym stalked him, slept with him, and pined after him, there was an element of unreality in her ardor, Harvey recalled.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 Nov. 2025
-
That ardor has endured since its Sundance debut.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
17 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
White Stadium represents a public investment with the capacity to shape business activity, employment patterns, and neighborhood vitality for decades.—
Ed Gaskin,
Boston Herald,
25 Jan. 2026
-
According to a 2025 study published in Behavioral Sciences, couples who engage in novel, challenging activities together report having stronger connections, greater vitality and higher long-term satisfaction.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
24 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“élan.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/%C3%A9lan. Accessed 28 Jan. 2026.
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