Elucidate
adj, verb ·Moderate ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 To make (something) lucid (“bright, luminous; also, clear, transparent”). obsolete, transitive
- 2 make free from confusion or ambiguity; make clear wordnet
- 3 To make (something) clear and understandable; to clarify, to illuminate, to shed light on. figuratively, transitive
"Let me hear vvhat your ovvn conceptions are of the matter, if they tend to elucidate or reconcile."
- 4 make clear and (more) comprehensible wordnet
- 1 Clear, understandable. obsolete, transitive
"There vvas not a greater Maſter of Perſpicuity, and elucidate Diſtinctions; vvhich look'd the better in his [John Williams'] Engliſh, that ran ſvveet upon his Tongue, eſpecially being ſet out vvith a graceful Facetiouſneſs, that hit the joint of the Matter: For his VVit, and his Judgment, never parted."
Example
More examples"Let me hear vvhat your ovvn conceptions are of the matter, if they tend to elucidate or reconcile."
Etymology
From Late Latin ēlūcidātus, perfect passive participle of ēlūcidō (“to lighten, enlighten”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from ē(x)- (“out, from”) + lūcidus (“bright, clear, understandable”) + -ō (first conjugation verb-forming suffix), literally “to make light of (something)”, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *lewk- (“bright; to see; to shine”). Compare French élucider.
From Late Latin ēlūcidātus (“lightened, enlightened”), see Etymology 1 and -ate (adjective-forming suffix) for more.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.