Standard Lemma guide

elegance

noun · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈɛl.ɪ.ɡəns/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: EH1 L AH0 G AH0 N S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable, usually

Examples

  • The bride was elegance personified.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Restraint and grace of style.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable, usually

Examples

  • The simple dress had a quiet elegance.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

The beauty of an idea characterized by minimalism and intuitiveness while preserving exactness and precision.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable, usually

Examples

  • The proof of the theorem had a pleasing elegance.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

A refinement or luxury.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, dated, usually

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

a refined quality of gracefulness and good taste

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • she conveys an aura of elegance and gentility

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: inelegance

Broader terms: quality

Narrower terms: dash, elan, flair, panache, style, daintiness, delicacy, fineness, courtliness, tastefulness, breeding, genteelness, gentility, chic, chicness, chichi, modishness, smartness, stylishness, swank, last word, magnificence, brilliance, splendor, splendour, grandeur, grandness, pomp, eclat, class

6

noun

Meaning 6

a quality of neatness and ingenious simplicity in the solution of a problem (especially in science or mathematics)

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the simplicity and elegance of his invention

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: quality

History

Etymology

From Middle French élégance, from Latin ēlegantia (“exquisiteness; refinement, elegance”).

Across languages

Translations

68 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Afar: bilqá — grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners
  • Arabic: أَنَاقَة (ʔanāqa) — grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners
  • Bengali: জামাল (jamal) — grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners
  • Bulgarian: елега́нтност (elegántnost) — grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners
  • Bulgarian: изи́сканост (izískanost) — grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners
  • Catalan: elegància — grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners
  • Chinese Mandarin: 高雅 (gāoyǎ) — grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners
  • Chinese Mandarin: 優雅 /优雅 (yōuyǎ) — grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners
  • Czech: elegance — grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners
  • Danish: elegance — grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners
  • Dutch: elegantie — grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners
  • Finnish: eleganssi — grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners
  • Finnish: hienostuneisuus — grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners
  • French: élégance — grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners
  • French: grâce — grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners
  • French: finesse — grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners
  • Galician: elegancia — grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners
  • German: Eleganz — grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners
  • Ancient Greek: εὐσχημοσύνη (euskhēmosúnē) — grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners
  • Hindi: लालित्य (lālitya) — grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners
  • Hindi: शिष्टता (śiṣṭatā) — grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners
  • Irish: gléastacht — grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners
  • Japanese: 優雅 (yūga) — grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners
  • Japanese: 高雅 (kōga) — grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners
  • Japanese: 典雅 (tenga) — grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners
  • Korean: 우아 (ua) — grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners
  • Korean: 기품 (gipum) — grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners
  • Korean: 고아 (goa) — grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners
  • Māori: purotutanga — grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners
  • Norwegian Bokmål: eleganse — grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: eleganse — grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners
  • Polish: elegancja — grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners
  • Portuguese: elegância — grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners
  • Quechua: k'acha — grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners
  • Romanian: eleganță — grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners
  • Romanian: grație — grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners
  • Romanian: finețe — grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners
  • Russian: элега́нтность (elegántnostʹ) — grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners
  • Russian: изы́сканность (izýskannostʹ) — grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners
  • Russian: изя́щество (izjáščestvo) — grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners
  • Swedish: elegans — grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners
  • Tagalog: elegansya — grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners
  • Telugu: సొంపు (sompu) — grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners
  • Ukrainian: елега́нтність (elehántnistʹ) — grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners
  • Ukrainian: ви́шуканість (výšukanistʹ) — grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners
  • Bulgarian: изтънченост (iztǎnčenost) — restraint and grace in style
  • Danish: elegance — restraint and grace in style
  • Danish: smagfuldhed — restraint and grace in style
  • Finnish: eleganssi — restraint and grace in style
  • Finnish: tyylikkyys — restraint and grace in style
  • Finnish: tyyli — restraint and grace in style
  • Irish: gléastacht — restraint and grace in style
  • Polish: elegancja — restraint and grace in style
  • Portuguese: elegância — restraint and grace in style
  • Russian: элега́нтность (elegántnostʹ) — restraint and grace in style
  • Russian: изы́сканность (izýskannostʹ) — restraint and grace in style
  • Tagalog: elegansya — restraint and grace in style
  • Ukrainian: елега́нтність (elehántnistʹ) — restraint and grace in style
  • Ukrainian: ви́шуканість (výšukanistʹ) — restraint and grace in style
  • Bulgarian: елега́нтност (elegántnost) — beauty of an idea
  • Finnish: eleganssi — beauty of an idea
  • Finnish: tyylikkyys — beauty of an idea
  • Irish: cuannacht — beauty of an idea
  • Russian: элега́нтность (elegántnostʹ) — beauty of an idea
  • Tagalog: kagandahan — beauty of an idea
  • Finnish: ylellisyys — refinement or luxury
  • Irish: gléastacht — refinement or luxury
  • Tagalog: elegansya — refinement or luxury