as in zeal
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Recent Examples of élan
But these artists skillfully infuse every note with passion and gritty elan.
—
George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Dec. 2025
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
George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Dec. 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for élan
Noun
-
But Kornev is young and infused with an idealistic zeal, refusing to let these goons stonewall him.—
Tim Grierson,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Mar. 2026
-
In Reflections on the Revolution in France, his most famous work, Burke warned about the dangers of a revolutionary zeal aimed at completely redesigning a civilization.—
Peter Wehner,
The Atlantic,
23 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The world was first introduced to Saoirse-Monica Jackson as the awkward and expressive schoolgirl Erin Quinn in Derry Girls, navigating Troubles-era Northern Ireland and its conflict with the same fervor as her crushes, convent school, and cringe-inducing teenage chaos.—
Anna Cafolla,
Vogue,
21 Mar. 2026
-
The path from five to three involves contract splits, criminal convictions, a Netflix acting turn, and a surprise collaboration that reignited fan fervor in late 2024.—
Hanna Wickes,
Miami Herald,
20 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The four-man group plays and sings with equal verve whether essaying its own engaging songs or classics by Bill Monroe, The Carter Family and The Stanley Brothers.—
George Varga,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
26 Mar. 2026
-
In the mouth of a master like Goncharov, crying foul at the sight—or, at any rate, the perception—of plagiarism acquires an astounding verve.—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
22 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
His roots on the island of Ischia mean that Umbria’s meaty, carb-heavy traditions are tempered by southern lightness and brio.—
Lee Marshall,
Condé Nast Traveler,
14 Jan. 2026
-
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
Noun
-
If Ryan Gosling wants to get a marching band to wish his lady a very happy birthday, Fallon and the gang are going to accommodate that request — with gusto.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
6 Mar. 2026
-
On one hand, the enthusiasm almost undermines its own point; if such an event were actually common it wouldn’t be celebrated with such gusto.—
Steven Zeitchik,
HollywoodReporter,
18 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Walker offers a fresh perspective with youthful vigor.—
Patrick Saunders,
Denver Post,
27 Mar. 2026
-
Your vigor is a gift, yet pacing yourself ensures consistency and keeps your focus strong beyond a single push toward completion.—
Tarot.com,
Hartford Courant,
26 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
In the early 1980s, in the full flush of revolutionary ardor and against an age-old enemy who had attacked them without provocation, the Iranian people and armed forces fought and suffered for their country.—
Eliot A. Cohen,
The Atlantic,
23 Mar. 2026
-
By contrast with the work of other documentary filmmakers of similarly observational ardor, Depardon’s method is rugged.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
19 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
In its eagerness to bring other downtown projects to life, Miami has sprung a three-prong trap on itself that has ensnared the financial vitality of Bayfront Park.—
Miami Herald Archives,
Miami Herald,
27 Mar. 2026
-
Programming chair Animon Jose said this year’s selections reflected the vitality of South Asian diasporic filmmaking.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
26 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“élan.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/%C3%A9lan. Accessed 30 Mar. 2026.
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