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
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of elaborate
Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 27 May 2026
Photographers who have worked in primarily low-stakes environments may technically produce beautiful images but are often unprepared for the particular demands that come with elaborate, multi-vendor productions.
—Ascend Agency, Chicago Tribune, 27 May 2026
Tiney Ricciardi, Denver Post, 2 June 2026
The police chief said the suspect has a criminal record, though did not elaborate.
—Jessie Dimartino, ABC News, 1 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for elaborate
Adjective
Robert Pattinson has spent the last decade-plus treating movie stardom like some kind of elaborate public dare.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 27 May 2026
Photographers who have worked in primarily low-stakes environments may technically produce beautiful images but are often unprepared for the particular demands that come with elaborate, multi-vendor productions.
—Ascend Agency, Chicago Tribune, 27 May 2026
Verb
Co-owner Jess Fierro was not immediately reachable to elaborate on the circumstances.
—Tiney Ricciardi, Denver Post, 2 June 2026
The police chief said the suspect has a criminal record, though did not elaborate.
—Jessie Dimartino, ABC News, 1 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for elaborate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for elaborate
Adjective
-
Property appraisers in Broward and Palm Beach counties have come up with their own detailed analysis showing the impact.—
Susannah Bryan,
Sun Sentinel,
6 June 2026
-
That distinction helps explain why federal agencies appear willing to collaborate with AI developers through voluntary testing programs while simultaneously maintaining detailed compliance frameworks for crypto firms.—
Sean Stein Smith,
Forbes.com,
6 June 2026
Adjective
-
To their credit, though, their preparation for the World Cup has been thorough, with friendlies against Ecuador, Colombia, Norway and Poland, among others.—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
New York Times,
5 June 2026
-
Instead of relying on wearables alone, Poindexter is making sure to get her yearly physical and signed up for Function, which includes more thorough blood and biomarker testing.—
David Oliver,
USA Today,
4 June 2026
Adjective
-
The bar is 3,000 square feet in all, with muted pink pillows, intricate floral light fixtures and gold accents.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
29 May 2026
-
Notably, Tutt made significant contributions in the design of the intricate parachute system used on NASA’s Artemis II Orion spacecraft mission.—
Pat Maio,
Oc Register,
29 May 2026
Verb
-
Chris Howard, Sharp’s chief executive officer, said this week that a range of actions will need to unfold in the coming years.—
Paul Sisson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 June 2026
-
Ongoing studies show that the allergic march can unfold in many different ways.—
Dr. Daniel DiGiacomo,
Boston Herald,
7 June 2026
Adjective
-
Wang Xiaogang, co-founder of the Chinese AI software company SenseTime and chairman of ACE Robotics, said his company is collecting a lot of human-centric data from factories, retailing and offices settings that could guide advanced robots to perform complicated functions.—
Chan Ho-Him,
Fortune,
6 June 2026
-
Be ready to get out the door in seconds, thanks to the effortless slip-on design, no complicated fastenings necessary.—
Caroline Hughes,
Travel + Leisure,
6 June 2026
Adjective
-
Meanwhile, my niece is ready and the potty full of pee is passed above the table because there is no room to carry it around the side without spilling on the guests.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 June 2026
-
That new chapter quickly turned into a full-fledged sequel, and Girls Like Us was born.—
Jennifer Dugan,
PEOPLE,
7 June 2026
Adjective
-
These are common but complicate long-term planning for federal agencies.—
Hollie Silverman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Sep. 2025
-
Despite differing views on a variety of security issues, the group, like Gilpatric’s, reached a clear consensus: nuclear proliferation by any additional country would diminish U.S. power, complicate strategic planning, and increase the likelihood of nuclear use, accidents, and disasters.—
MARIANO-FLORENTINO CUÉLLAR,
Foreign Affairs,
25 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
With a particular emphasis on Europe and China, this quickly evolved into the idea of a creative residency to support Chinese design talent through the Kering ecosystem.—
Laure Guilbault,
Vogue,
4 June 2026
-
Demie worked closely with the show’s makeup and wardrobe stylists to craft Maddy’s look, helping the character evolve from someone obsessed with being the perfect girlfriend in the first half of Season 1, to a bolder, hyper-feminine rejection of the softness her boyfriend had expected of her.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
4 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Elaborate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/elaborate. Accessed 11 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
