elaboration

/ɪlæbəˈreɪʃɪn/

/ɪlæbəˈreɪʃən/

Other forms: elaborations

Elaboration means "adding details." Kids are famous for answering "good" when asked how school was and "nothing" when asked what they did there. If pressed for elaboration, they might talk about recess, lunch, and even what they learned.

Elaboration is the result of going that extra mile, such as when your history teacher asks for five paragraphs on the Fall of Rome, and you write three pages, or when your friend, instead of giving you a regular birthday card, creates a mini-scrapbook with photos and mementos from the past year. As you can see, elaboration takes time and energy because you go into greater detail than usual.

Definitions of elaboration

1. noun

   developing in intricate and painstaking detail
   synonyms: working out

   type of:

   development

   the act of improving by expanding, enlarging, or refining
2. noun

   addition of extra material or illustration or clarifying detail
   “an elaboration of the sketch followed”

   synonyms: amplification

   type of:

   expanding upon, expansion

   adding information or detail
3. noun

   a discussion that provides additional information
   synonyms: enlargement, expansion

   types:

   expatiation

   a discussion (spoken or written) that enlarges on a topic or theme at length or in detail

   embellishment, embroidery

   elaboration of an interpretation by the use of decorative (sometimes fictitious) detail

   type of:

   discourse, discussion, treatment

   an extended communication (often interactive) dealing with some particular topic
4. noun

   the result of improving something
   synonyms: refinement

   type of:

   advance, betterment, improvement

   a change for the better; progress in development
5. noun

   the quality of being marked by elaborately complex detail
   synonyms: elaborateness, intricacy, involution

   type of:

   complexity, complexness

   the quality of being intricate and compounded