
elaborate | elaborate: adj. 1 detailed, painstaking, meticulous, punctilious, comprehensive, thorough, complete, exhaustive, intricate, involved, minute, precise, exact: The escape had been worked out in elaborate detail. 2 complicated, complex, convoluted, ornate, fancy, Byzantine, laborious, laboured, extravagant, showy; ornamented, decorated, baroque, rococo, busy, fussy, gingerbread: We marvelled at the elaborate mosaics. His plan is too elaborate and should be simplified. --v. 3 ornament, decorate, complicate, embellish, garnish, adorn: Later craftsmen elaborated the earlier Greek motifs. 4 enlarge, expand (upon or on), expatiate, develop, cultivate, flesh out, enhance, refine, enrich, improve, better, ameliorate, emend, polish: Later on, I shall elaborate on the recruitment methods we used.
elaboration | elaboration: n. 1 enhancement, refinement, enrichment, improvement, amelioration, melioration, betterment; embellishment, adornment, garnish, garnishment, decoration, over-decoration, gingerbread, Slang bells and whistles: The customers always welcome elaboration of the equipment. 2 enlargement, development, amplification, expansion: The argument requires further elaboration.
elapse | elapse: v. pass (by), go (by), slip by or away, pass away, slide by, glide by, transpire: Three weeks have elapsed since I last saw her.
elastic | elastic: adj. 1 flexible, stretchable, stretchy, stretch, bendable, pliable, springy, plastic, extensile, extensible, expansible, expandable, contractile, resilient, bouncy, compressible: Is it elastic enough to stretch round that box? 2 adjustable, adaptable, accommodating, flexible: The schedule for our main project is elastic, so we can fit in additional tasks at very short notice.
elasticity | elasticity: n. 1 flexibility, resilience, rubberiness, plasticity, ductility, springiness, stretchability, stretchiness, stretch, suppleness, pliancy, Colloq give: Dry hair has no elasticity: it''s brittle and breaks easily when brushed or combed. 2 flexibility, adjustability, adaptability, tolerance, suppleness: Their plan lacks the elasticity needed to accommodate changes.
elated | elated: adj. exhilarated, uplifted, elevated, gleeful, joyful, jubilant, joyous, exultant, ecstatic, blissful, happy, delighted, euphoric, overjoyed, excited, thrilled, transported, pleased (as Punch), on top of the world, on cloud nine, Colloq tickled, tickled pink, Brit chuffed, over the moon, in the seventh heaven, US in seventh heaven: We were elated to learn that our daughter had won first prize.
elder | elder: adj. 1 older, senior: My elder brother was born in 1930. 2 venerable, respected, (pre-)eminent; experienced, veteran: Clemenceau was an elder statesman at the Geneva Convention. --n. 3 senior, superior; patriarch, elder statesman, dean, doyen or doyenne: Everyone paid great respect to the elders of the tribe.
elderly | elderly: adj. 1 old, past middle age, oldish, advanced in years, of advanced age, along in years, grey, ageing, aged, venerable; hoary, ancient, senescent, decrepit, superannuated; senile, anile; Colloq over the hill, past it, long in the tooth, having one foot in the grave, old-fogyish or old-fogeyish: Today, a person isn''t considered elderly till he''s past 65. --n. 2 the elderly. the retired, the old, senior citizens, pensioners, O.A.P.''s, old-age pensioners, golden-agers, Colloq old-timers, (old) geezers, (old) fogies or fogeys, Brit wrinklies: The elderly constitute an increasingly large body of voters.
elect | elect: v. 1 choose, select, pick, vote (for), determine, designate: We must elect a new chairperson at the next meeting. --adj. 2 chosen, elected, selected, picked out: The president-elect takes office next month. 3 select, choice, first-rate, first-class: An elect few make up the executive committee.
election | election: n. poll, vote, referendum, plebiscite; selection, choice, choosing, nomination, designation, appointment; voting, electing: They held an election and Michael lost. The election of a new social secretary is required.
electioneer | electioneer: v. campaign, canvass, support, back, promote: They are busy electioneering for their candidate.
electric | electric: adj. charged, tense, energized, stimulating, exciting, thrilling, galvanizing, electrifying, moving, stirring: As the jury filed in, the atmosphere in the courtroom was electric.
electricity | electricity: n. excitement, verve, energy, tension, tenseness, fervency, intensity, ardour; vibrations: I could feel the electricity between us.
electrify | electrify: v. 1 startle, shock, stun, jolt, stagger, astound, jar, astonish, amaze: We were electrified by the news of the disaster. 2 excite, galvanize, animate, move, rouse, stir, stimulate, vitalize, fire, thrill, arouse: His fiery oratory electrified the audience.
elegance | elegance: n. 1 refinement, grace, tastefulness, good taste, gentility, polish, courtliness, culture, politeness, politesse, propriety, dignity: Where but in 18th-century France could one find such elegance? 2 luxury, grandeur, luxuriousness, sumptuousness, exquisiteness, splendour, beauty: The overwhelming elegance of the palace took our breath away.
elegant | elegant: adj. 1 tasteful, exquisite, handsome, beautiful, comely, dapper, smart, well turned out; graceful, choice, superior, fine, select, refined, delicate, discerning, artistic; dignified, genteel, sophisticated, cultivated, polished, urbane, Chesterfieldian, suave, soign�(e), debonair, courtly, to the manner born, well-bred, well-born, high-born: Desmond and Elizabeth are such an elegant couple! 2 artistic, stylish, modish, � la mode, chic, fashionable, Colloq in, with it: The newly refurbished rooms are very elegant. 3 luxurious, sumptuous, grand, opulent, plush, Colloq posh, swank, swanky, ritzy, fancy: We stayed in a very elegant West End hotel. 4 apt, clever, ingenious, neat: What is needed is a more elegant solution to the problem.
element | element: n. 1 component, constituent, ingredient, essential, fundamental, part, unit, piece, segment, feature, factor, detail, particular: Each element was carefully designed with a view to its place in the whole. 2 environment, atmosphere, situation, locale, territory, sphere, habitat, medium, domain: Ordway is really in his element at a party. 3 elements. a (adverse or unfavourable) weather, climatic conditions: Stay here tonight - there''s no need to brave the elements. b rudiments, basics, fundamentals, foundations, essentials, principles: It was she who taught me the elements of flying a helicopter.
elemental | elemental: adj. basic, fundamental, primal, original, primordial, primitive: Elemental religion focused on worship of the sun and fertility.
elementary | elementary: adj. 1 simple, rudimentary, easy, straightforward, uncomplicated, clear, understandable, plain: This is an elementary mistake which most beginners make. 2 basic, fundamental, primary, introductory, initial, beginning; elemental: She received her elementary education in France.
elevated | elevated: adj. 1 raised, upraised, uplifted, lifted (up): Only three hands were elevated in opposition and the motion was carried. 2 uplifted, noble, lofty, high, grand, exalted, dignified, eminent, pre-eminent, ennobled, prominent, notable, illustrious, distinguished, imposing, impressive, sublime: He has rather elevated notions of morality. 3 elated, cheerful, happy, exhilarated, animated, joyful, glad: Her elevated spirits and pleasant countenance make her a welcome guest.
elevation | elevation: n. 1 altitude, height: The elevation of Denver, Colorado, is one mile above sea level. 2 swelling, lump, wen, eminence, prominence; hill, height, rise: From this elevation, you can see seven counties. The doctor noticed a slight elevation in the skin near the eye. 3 advancement, promotion, uplifting, enhancement, advance: Since her elevation to the peerage, she has had less time for local community work. 4 grandeur, nobleness, loftiness, exaltation, sublimity, distinction, dignity, refinement, cultivation: The elevation of his style means that his work is not accessible to a mass readership.
elfin | elfin: adj. 1 elvish, elfish, elf-like, impish, puckish, frolicsome, sprightly, arch, playful, mischievous, tricky: I suppose she has a certain elfin charm, but I don''t like her. 2 small, wee, diminutive, tiny, little, dainty, Lilliputian: This is a delightful tale of elfin folk and magic birds.
elicit | elicit: v. draw out, call forth, evoke, bring out or forth, bring to light, extract, wring, wrest, wrench: They finally elicited the fact that she had been lying about his whereabouts.
eligible | eligible: adj. 1 fit, worthy, qualified, proper, suitable, appropriate, fitting: Is he an eligible candidate for the post? 2 single, unmarried, unwed, available: He is one of the few eligible bachelors in the town.
eliminate | eliminate: v. 1 remove, exclude, rule out, reject, drop, leave out, omit: Police have eliminated him from their enquiries. 2 take out or away, omit, get rid of, dispose of, expel, knock out: He was eliminated in the first heat of the 100-metre run. 3 erase, eradicate, expunge, obliterate, strike (out), cross out or off, cut (out), excise, delete, throw out, edit (out), blue-pencil, cancel: The censors have eliminated all references to sex. 4 kill, murder, assassinate, slay, terminate, exterminate, dispose of, liquidate, finish off, annihilate, stamp out, destroy, Slang bump off, polish off, US rub out, take for a ride, bury, ice, waste: They used a sub-machine gun to eliminate the competition.
elixir | elixir: n. 1 panacea, cure-all, nostrum, wonder drug, miracle drug, sovereign remedy: In the Middle Ages alchemists sought a universal cure, an elixir. 2 essence, potion, extract, tincture, compound, mixture: Ophidia''s Elixir was the name of a patent snake-oil medicine. 3 pith, core, kernel, heart, essence, quintessence, principle, extract, base, basis, soul: The elixir of life is wisdom and its mystic ingredient is not knowledge but understanding.
eloquent | eloquent: adj. 1 expressive, articulate, silver-tongued, fluent, well-spoken, effective, persuasive, convincing, cogent, trenchant, incisive, graphic, vivid, striking, facile, smooth, glib, oratorical, rhetorical: He was an eloquent speaker. He rose and gave an eloquent speech. 2 suggestive, meaningful, pregnant: His eyebrow was raised in eloquent scepticism.
elsewhere | elsewhere: adv. somewhere else, to another place; in another place, abroad, absent, away: She''s not in the office so I assume she''s gone elsewhere. Elsewhere, winds have died down and temperatures are slowly rising.
elude | elude: v. 1 evade, escape, avoid, dodge, slip away from, Colloq duck, give the slip, shake off: The suspect has eluded the police for a year. 2 evade, escape; baffle, puzzle, confuse, bewilder, confound; frustrate, stump, thwart: The point of your argument eludes me.
elusive | elusive: adj. 1 evasive, slippery, tricky, shifty: One of the world''s most elusive guerrilla leaders was spotted in public yesterday. 2 evasive, evanescent, fleeting, fugitive, transitory, indefinable, elusory, intangible, impalpable: The notion of truth has always been elusive.
