elucidate
Usage
What are other ways to say elucidate?
To elucidate is to throw light on what before was dark and obscure, usually by illustration and commentary and sometimes by elaborate explanation: They asked him to elucidate his statement. To explain is to make plain, clear, or intelligible something that is not known or understood: to explain a theory or a problem. To expound is to give a methodical, detailed, scholarly explanation of something, usually Scriptures, doctrines, or philosophy: to expound the doctrine of free will. To interpret is to give the meaning of something by paraphrase, by translation, or by an explanation based on personal opinion: to interpret a poem or a symbol.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
But before the officer could elucidate a satisfying response, agents drove up and surrounded Zemian and Amundson’s vehicle.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
Members of Congress will want Warsh to elucidate his plans for bringing inflation down to the Fed’s 2% target.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 11, 2026
But where its cinematic peers get snared by trying to elucidate the truth of the pop star, Lowery’s film skates past the conventions and trappings, landing on something high-concept but deceptively straightforward.
From Salon ● Apr. 24, 2026
"There are many questions that we will only elucidate when we are able to go back," Grossi told reporters.
From BBC ● Mar. 31, 2026
He became the world’s foremost authority on thermodynamics and the first to elucidate the principles of the convection of fluids and the circulation of ocean currents.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
In a collection of his reviews, “Big Screen, Little Screen,” I was struck by the way he elucidates the alchemy of Page’s acting.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 12, 2026
“Beauty of the Beasts” elucidates their true role in nature.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 2026
The team's modelling framework elucidates three critical system features: First, collective property rights most likely evolved sequentially -- certain puzzle pieces must be in place before others can evolve.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 20, 2024
She elucidates the myths and stories we tell about our lupine fears in ferocious and beautiful writing.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 28, 2023
The metrical clavis scans all the difficult lines contained in the book, and the general index clearly and briefly elucidates all the references which the poem contains to men, incidents, and localities.
From The Knickerbocker, or New-York Monthly Magazine, January 1844 Volume 23, Number 1 by Various
“The Devil Wears Prada” was a heaping dose of wish-fulfillment, but it was also the very movie that carefully and artfully elucidated the values of magazines and fashion, emphasizing the art form of both.
From Salon ● May 6, 2026
"But we collected the entire native autoimmune antibody panel from a mouse model with the disease, and we elucidated where specifically they bind onto the receptor."
From Science Daily ● Feb. 25, 2026
Still, the impressive power of the book club might have been better elucidated if details about its impact in other Eastern Bloc countries were brought into the story.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 27, 2025
The findings were elucidated in yeast, a model organism famous for making bread and beer and yet surprisingly similar to humans on the cellular level.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 25, 2024
But he did haul our water and cut wood, and he elucidated for us the many daily mysteries of Kilanga.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
The most elucidating superimposes a Pietà by Anne-Louis Girodet, David’s little-known pupil, over David’s “Marat.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 21, 2025
Without elucidating those necessary subtleties, “The Monkey” has no more value than the glib words of comfort whispered by a family friend who only came to the wake for the free food.
From Salon ● Feb. 21, 2025
Their ineptitude complicates the journey, elucidating misconnections and cross-cultural exchanges.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 23, 2025
"By elucidating the role of aldehydes in DNA damage and aging, we are paving the way for future studies aimed at developing novel treatments and interventions."
From Science Daily ● Apr. 10, 2024
Instead she heard her mother, Euphrosyne Stephanides, speaking in this very cocoonery years ago, elucidating the mysteries of silkworms—“To have good silk, you have to be pure,” she used to tell her daughter.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
Vocabulary lists containing elucidate
Let There Be Light: Lum and Luc
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To Kill a Mockingbird
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"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, Chapters 16–19
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