elaboratee‧lab‧o‧rate2 /ɪˈlæbəreɪt/ verb 
He said he had new evidence, but refused to elaborate any further.elaborate on McDonald refused to elaborate on his reasons for resigning.—elaboration /ɪˌlæbəˈreɪʃən/ noun [countable, uncountable]
VERB TABLE
elaborate
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | elaborate |
| he, she, it | elaborates | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | elaborated |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have elaborated |
| he, she, it | has elaborated | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had elaborated |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will elaborate |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have elaborated |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am elaborating |
| he, she, it | is elaborating | |
| you, we, they | are elaborating | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was elaborating |
| you, we, they | were elaborating | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been elaborating |
| he, she, it | has been elaborating | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been elaborating |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be elaborating |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been elaborating |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- I would like now to elaborate upon the points raised in my introduction.
- This argument will be elaborated more fully in the next chapter.
- What exactly do you mean by "traditional education"? Would you care to elaborate?
- I say, and wait for him to elaborate.
- I suppose you wouldn't care to elaborate further?
- The process can, of course, be elaborated, on the basis of a suitably detailed marketing strategy.
- These could include tapping the Federal Financing Bank or a $ 40 billion currency stabilization fund, though Rubin declined to elaborate.
- This approach is elaborated in Chapter 5.
- This simple story line was elaborated in the works of Hesiod, Aeschylus, Lucian, Ovid, and others.
Longman Language Activatorto add details to what you have said
to give more information about something by adding details to what you have already said or written: · Can you give me more details about the cost of these courses, please?· The press officer was unable to give any more details about the assassination attempt.
formal to provide more information about something in order to make it easier for someone to understand: · Could you expand on your last comment, please?· When asked to expand on his accusations of injustice, the journalist refused to say any more.· I was unsure whether this was meant as an insult or a compliment, but he didn't choose to enlarge on his remark.
to give someone more details about something than you have already said or written: · I don't have time to go into more detail. Perhaps we could talk about this tomorrow.· I would like you to tell your story to my colleagues, and they may want you to go into greater detail.go into more/greater detail about: · Her talk was interesting, but I wish she'd gone into more detail about the early part of her career.
to give much clearer and more detailed information about something, especially when you have been asked to do this: · I don't understand what your plan is exactly. Could you be a little more specific?be more specific/be more explicit about: · The main political parties need to be much more explicit about their policies for the environment.
formal to provide more details about something that you have said or written, especially in order to make it easier to understand: · What exactly do you mean by "traditional education"? Would you care to elaborate?elaborate on/upon: · I would like now to elaborate upon the points raised in my introduction.elaborate an argument/point etc: · This argument will be elaborated more fully in the next chapter.
use this to add a particular detail or example to what you are already saying, so that people know exactly what you are going to talk about: · In the next chapter I want to explore the question of the cultural boundaries between different subjects. Specifically I will look at what we mean by the terms "art" and "science".
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES an elaborate hoax
[intransitive, transitive] to give more details or new information about something SYN enlarge: · The inhabitants of the town organized a grand ceremony to mark the occasion.
an elaborate hoax· Her parents didn’t realise that it was all an elaborate lie.
(=a lot of detailed precautions)· Elaborate precautions were taken to avoid disputes between the representatives.
(=one that is carefully planned and done, but obviously not true or real)· He made an elaborate pretence of yawning and said he was going to bed.
· The proposal has to get through an elaborate system of committees.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB· The needs of the course of justice prevent me from elaborating further now.· Airline spokesmen declined to elaborate further Thursday.· I suppose you wouldn't care to elaborate further?· The relevance of autonomy for cognitive development is further elaborated in Chapter 8.· Background factors further elaborate the variations.· Louisa began elaborating further examples about other kids, teachers, or parents causing her to forget things.· I've suggested several simple patterns for you but you can elaborate further on these yourself.
NOUN· He then proceeded to elaborate on that point.· It would be unwise to elaborate on the last point.· I shall return to, and elaborate on, these points.· Let us elaborate on these points.
VERB· De Benedetti disclosed that Hewlett-Packard Co had also approached Olivetti for a possible alliance, but declined to elaborate.· These could include tapping the Federal Financing Bank or a $ 40 billion currency stabilization fund, though Rubin declined to elaborate.· He said he got a positive reaction from council members to his remarks about Western aid but declined to elaborate.· Airline spokesmen declined to elaborate further Thursday.· Doherty said deals with content providers may be announced shortly but declined to elaborate.· Mr Chandler declined to elaborate on the departures.· The company said further restructuring plans could follow this announcement but declined to elaborate.
· Although pressed, McCurry refused to elaborate.
He said he had new evidence, but refused to elaborate any further.elaborate on McDonald refused to elaborate on his reasons for resigning.—elaboration /ɪˌlæbəˈreɪʃən/ noun [countable, uncountable]