elegant
adjective · noun
Simple meaning
Stylish, graceful and attractive in a simple way.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ehluhguhntSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɛləɡənt
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
Characterised by or exhibiting elegance.
Characterised by minimalism and intuitiveness while preserving exactness and precision.
noun
An elegant parrot.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Characterised by or exhibiting elegance.
Used this way, elegant is a reasonably familiar word with a clearly warm, approving pull. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Positive
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Gentle
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Positive and appreciative
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use elegant
- “Elegant handwriting.”adjective
Share your sentence
Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Brodiaea having an umbel of violet or blue-violet flowers atop a leafless stalk.
Small plant with slender bent stems bearing branched clusters of a few white star-shaped flowers with petals shaped like cat's ears.
Slender inland rein orchid similar to coastal rein orchid but with pale greenish-yellow flowers.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Use This Word
See how this word sounds in a real sentence.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Related Learning
Guides that use this word in context.
Better Words
40 Better Words for “Beautiful” (and When to Use Each)
Find the right alternative to “beautiful” for people, places, art, or ideas, grouped by tone and context.
Better Words
Better Words for “Nice”
“Nice” is so vague it barely says anything. Learn alternatives grouped by what you’re describing, a person, an experience, an appearance, food or weather.
Collections with this word
Themed sets you can browse for free.
Use it yourself
Knowing “elegant” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.