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
-
The appointees competed to demonstrate loyalist zeal.—
Dexter Filkins,
New Yorker,
12 Jan. 2026
-
With something like military zeal, the former soldier who once itched to be on the front lines now talks up saving the world’s dwindling varieties of tomato seeds, as well as books about social inequality.—
Frederick Melo,
Twin Cities,
11 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
-
That momentum was not felt early on, as neither the crowd – many wearing 49ers jerseys and celebrating the team’s playoff victory – nor the players had much verve to begin.—
Joseph Dycus,
Mercury News,
12 Jan. 2026
-
Reisman's verve and competitive spirit, for example, mirror Marty's relentless drive.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
10 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
-
But the proliferation of his branding on government entities shows a brazen vigor at self-promotion.—
Christine Ledbetter,
Chicago Tribune,
4 Jan. 2026
-
Singing is a form of communication used to signal a bird's health, vigor, and fitness to potential partners and to warn off rivals, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.—
Michele Laufik,
Martha Stewart,
31 Dec. 2025
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
-
Since its opening, the hotel has infused a fresh vitality in the town.—
Madeline Weinfield,
Travel + Leisure,
5 Jan. 2026
-
Phased retirement has proven to help older workers maintain vitality and reduce fatigue.—
Mary Moreland,
Fortune,
31 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“élan.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/%C3%A9lan. Accessed 19 Jan. 2026.
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