elaborate

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: B2 — Upper-Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. verb add details, as to an account or idea; clarify the meaning of and discourse in a learned way, usually in writing
  2. verb produce from basic elements or sources; change into a more developed product
  3. verb make more complex, intricate, or richer

Etymology

1575, from Late Latin ēlabōrātus (“worked out”), past participle of ēlabōrō (“to work out”), from ē- (“out, forth, fully”) + labor (“work, toil, exertion”). More at e-, labour.

In classic literature

Synonyms

lucubrate, expatiate, exposit, enlarge, flesh out, expand, expound, dilate

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