elegant Hear it!

elegant definition

el·egant (el′ə gənt)

adjective

  1. characterized by dignified richness and grace, as of design, dress, style, etc.; luxurious or opulent in a restrained, tasteful manner
  2. characterized by a sense of propriety or refinement; impressively fastidious in manners and tastes
  3. marked by concision, incisiveness, and ingenuity; cleverly apt and simple an elegant solution to a complex problem
  4. Informal excellent; fine; first-rate

Etymology: Fr élégant < L elegans prp. of *elegare < e-, out + *legare, var. of legere, to choose: see logic

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

elegant Synonyms

elegant

modif.

  1. Said of personal surroundings

    rich, tasteful, classic, restrained, graceful, luxurious, sumptuous, opulent, fine, chic, posh*, classy*, tony*, ritzy*; see also beautiful 1, dignified.

  2. Said of persons

    well-bred, cultured, refined, polished, urbane, sophisticated, aristocratic, dignified, courtly, genteel, graceful, fastidious, smart, chic, well-dressed, soigné, debonair, suave, classy*, chichi*; see also beautiful 2, dignified, refined 2.

  3. Said of writing or speech

    polished, perfected, elaborated, finished, ornate, ornamented, rhythmical, adorned, embellished, embroidered, chaste, balanced, well-turned, flowing, stylized, Ciceronian, artistic, grandiloquent, rhetorical, florid, flowery, fancy, rich, artistic, mellifluous, pure, fluent, neat, concise, incisive, succinct, economical, simple.

    Antonyms dull*, ill-chosen, inarticulate.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

elegant Usage Examples

Adjective complement with noun phrase

  • make: Ruby on Rails Support Ruby is a pure object-oriented programming language with a super clean syntax that makes programming elegant and fun.

Modifies a noun

  • surroundings: All of these can be enjoyed in relaxed and elegant surroundings.

Modifying Another Word

  • classically: Classically elegant rich burgundy colors made their presence felt in Deeply, a section aimed at the more mature bride.

Used with adjective complement

  • look: The case does thankfully not look ' grand ' or tacky at all, rather looks elegant.

Preposition: in

  • design: Tho elegant in design, the Admiral is a dedicated performer.

Preposition: of

  • writer: He thought him the most elegant of any mathematical writer of modern times, and the most just imitator of the antients.
elegant usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

elegant quotes

O O O O that Shakespeherian Ragö It's so elegant So intelligent.

-Eliot,T(homas) S(tearns)

A little shorter than the Washington monument, erect, elegant, dogmatic, and ironically witty.

-Reston,James B(arrett)

elegant quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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"elegant." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/elegant>

APA Style

elegant. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/elegant

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