Synonyms of elaborate

elaborate 1 of 2

adjective

i-ˈla-b(ə-)rət 

1

as in detailed

made or done with great care or with much detail

elaborate festivities for the 200th anniversary of the town's founding

Synonyms & Similar Words

• detailed
• intricate
• complicated
• elegant
• complex
• sophisticated
• fancy
• involved
• exquisite
• ornate
• magnificent
• extravagant
• splendid
• showy
• grandiose
• Byzantine
• convoluted
• grand
• exuberant
• flamboyant
• ostentatious
• frilly
• overwrought
• labyrinthine
• fancified
• souped-up
• involuted
• chichi
• labyrinthian
• involute
• gimmicked (up)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• simple
• unsophisticated
• modest
• plain
• uncomplicated
• no-frills
• unfancy
• unadorned
• naked
• bare
• bald
• unvarnished
• plain-vanilla
• undecorated
• plain-Jane

2

as in thorough

including many small descriptive features

the elaborate world known as Middle Earth that J.R.R. Tolkien created in his richly imagined novels

Synonyms & Similar Words

• detailed
• thorough
• full
• comprehensive
• particular
• descriptive
• particularized
• circumstantial
• accurate
• specific
• complete
• minute
• entire
• blow-by-blow
• graphic
• vivid
• precise
• explicit
• itemized
• panoramic
• copious
• exhaustive
• enumerated
• abundant
• distinct
• specified
• encyclopedic
• inclusive
• listed
• correct
• thoroughgoing
• exhausting
• exact
• picturesque
• in-depth
• numerated
• delineated
• replete
• omnibus
• inventoried
• inclusionary
• mapped (out)
• sharp

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• summary
• brief
• short
• compendious
• concise
• succinct
• pithy
• compact
• terse
• abbreviated
• vague
• crisp
• ambiguous
• cut
• trimmed
• curtailed
• sketchy
• abridged
• general
• shortened
• nebulous
• indeterminate
• pruned
• nondescript
• broad
• nonspecific
• unspecified
• overall
• bird's-eye

3

as in intricate

having many parts or aspects that are usually interrelated

plans for a huge mall that will actually be an elaborate center for sports, entertainment, and shopping

Synonyms & Similar Words

• intricate
• complicated
• complicate
• complex
• sophisticated
• convoluted
• tangled
• labyrinthine
• involved
• baroque
• byzantine
• knotty
• difficult
• varied
• labyrinthian
• involute
• daedal
• mixed
• multifaceted
• composite
• multifarious
• heterogeneous
• challenging
• overcomplicated
• compound
• overcomplex
• inexplicable
• tough
• incomprehensible
• unintelligible
• multipart
• unfathomable
• multibranched
• impenetrable
• Kafkaesque

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• simple
• plain
• uncomplicated
• simplistic
• simplified
• noncomplex
• uniform
• noncomplicated
• homogeneous
• oversimplified
• unvaried

elaborate

2 of 2

verb

i-ˈla-bə-ˌrāt 

as in to unfold

to gradually become clearer or more detailed

as mankind's understanding of the universe has elaborated

Synonyms & Similar Words

• unfold
• evolve
• progress
• develop
• proceed
• grow
• emerge
• mature
• get along
• get on
• march
• advance
• forge
• fare
• blossom
• materialize
• play out
• ripen

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of elaborate

Adjective

Coming up, the mounting questions about that elaborate ruse that had the president ducking into a catering truck to switch planes. — ABC News, 16 Aug. 2026

Elsewhere in the concrete jungle, Wood and his team also had to build and stylize another part of New York through Yelena’s (Florence Pugh) elaborate bathhouse, built from scratch and based on spaces Wood discovered while scouting the city. — Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 15 Aug. 2026

Verb

Murdoch said the decision came after recent talks between Fox and the league, but declined to elaborate. — Brian Steinberg, Variety, 6 Aug. 2026

Her lawyer, Sabrina Puglisi, said in a statement to PEOPLE that Clenney had reached a plea agreement but declined to elaborate further ahead of the hearing. — Ben Brachfeld, PEOPLE, 31 July 2026

Phrases Containing elaborate

• elaborate (on)