elaborate

Definition

Complex, detailed, or sophisticated.

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.

Example Sentences

• "After reading a long, elaborate description, I was impressed but no wiser."
• "I stared for hours at the elaborate pattern in the rug."
• "The house was a big elaborate limestone affair, evidently new. Winter sunshine sparkled on lace-hung casement, on glass marquise, and the burnished bronze foliations of grille and door."