All 3 Uses of
elaborate
in
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
- After Bailey learned definitely that I was his sister, he refused to call me Marguerite, but rather addressed me each time as "Mya Sister," and in later more articulate years, after the need for brevity had shortened the appellation to "My," it was elaborated into "Maya."†
p. 68.2 *elaborated = added details or explained in detail
- We, or at any rate I, had built such elaborate fantasies about him and the illusory mother that seeing him in the flesh shredded my inventions like a hard yank on a paper chain.†
p. 54.1
- I would like someone to elaborate on the subject for me.†
p. 216.2
Definitions:
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(1)
(elaborate as in: elaborate on your plan) add details or explain in detail
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(2)
(elaborate as in: an elaborate design) having details and complexity -- sometimes fancy or ornateDepending upon it's context, this sense of elaborate can additionally imply that details make something either:
- more special than others of its kind in a good way
- more complicated than necessary in a bad way
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(3)
(elaborate as in: an elaborate wink) to exaggerate an actionAt times, this sense of elaborate can further imply that an action was exaggerated by prolonging it (performing it more slowly than normal).
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(4)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus