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frequently_asked_questions_files/Oxford Thesaurus.pdf

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elaborate adj. 1 detailed, painstaking, meticulous, punctilious,<br />

comprehensive, thorough, complete, exhaustive, intricate,<br />

involved, minute, precise, exact: The escape had been worked<br />

out in elaborate detail. 2 complicated, complex, convoluted,<br />

ornate, fancy, Byzantine, laborious, laboured, extravagant,<br />

showy; ornamented, decorated, baroque, rococo, busy, fussy,<br />

gingerbread: We marvelled at the elaborate mosaics. His plan is<br />

too elaborate and should be simplified.<br />

--v. 3 ornament, decorate, complicate, embellish, garnish,<br />

adorn: Later craftsmen elaborated the earlier Greek motifs. 4<br />

enlarge, expand (upon or on), expatiate, develop, cultivate,<br />

flesh out, enhance, refine, enrich, improve, better, ameliorate,<br />

emend, polish: Later on, I shall elaborate on the recruitment<br />

methods we used.<br />

elaboration<br />

n. 1 enhancement, refinement, enrichment, improvement,<br />

amelioration, melioration, betterment; embellishment, adornment,<br />

garnish, garnishment, decoration, over-decoration, gingerbread,<br />

Slang bells and whistles: The customers always welcome<br />

elaboration of the equipment. 2 enlargement, development,<br />

amplification, expansion: The argument requires further<br />

elaboration.<br />

elapse v. pass (by), go (by), slip by or away, pass away, slide by,<br />

glide by, transpire: Three weeks have elapsed since I last saw<br />

her.<br />

elastic adj. 1 flexible, stretchable, stretchy, stretch, bendable,<br />

pliable, springy, plastic, extensile, extensible, expansible,<br />

expandable, contractile, resilient, bouncy, compressible: Is it<br />

elastic enough to stretch round that box? 2 adjustable,<br />

adaptable, accommodating, flexible: The schedule for our main<br />

project is elastic, so we can fit in additional tasks at very<br />

short notice.<br />

elasticity<br />

n. 1 flexibility, resilience, rubberiness, plasticity,<br />

ductility, springiness, stretchability, stretchiness, stretch,<br />

suppleness, pliancy, Colloq give: Dry hair has no elasticity:<br />

it's brittle and breaks easily when brushed or combed. 2<br />

flexibility, adjustability, adaptability, tolerance, suppleness:

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