Synonyms of elucidate

elucidate

verb

i-ˈlü-sə-ˌdāt 

as in to explain

to make plain or understandable

colored charts that really help to elucidate the points made in the text

Synonyms & Similar Words

• explain
• clarify
• illustrate
• demonstrate
• illuminate
• simplify
• interpret
• explicate
• expound
• construe
• clear (up)
• analyze
• demystify
• spell out
• get across
• resolve
• define
• decipher
• solve
• specify
• unriddle
• unravel
• decode
• disentangle
• untangle
• undo
• annotate
• unscramble
• gloss
• break down
• commentate

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• obscure
• confuse
• confound
• cloud
• obfuscate
• befog

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb elucidate contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of elucidate are explain, explicate, expound, and interpret. While all these words mean "to make something clear or understandable," elucidate stresses the throwing of light upon as by offering details or motives previously unclear or only implicit.

elucidate an obscure passage

In what contexts can explain take the place of elucidate?

While the synonyms explain and elucidate are close in meaning, explain implies a making plain or intelligible what is not immediately obvious or entirely known.

explain the rules

When might explicate be a better fit than elucidate?

The meanings of explicate and elucidate largely overlap; however, explicate adds the idea of a developed or detailed analysis.

explicate a poem

When would expound be a good substitute for elucidate?

The words expound and elucidate are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, expound implies a careful often elaborate explanation.

expounding a scientific theory

How are the words interpret and explain related as synonyms of elucidate?

Interpret adds to explain the need for imagination or sympathy or special knowledge in dealing with something.

interpreting a work of art

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of elucidate

This creative milieu of renowned lesbian and bisexual modernists, including the likes of Gertrude Stein, Alice B. Toklas, and Sylvia Beach, is placed under a distinctly feminist lens as Schiller’s poetic documentary elucidates their newfound freedom south of the Seine. —Emily Maskell, Vulture, 18 June 2024

Francis Fukuyama, a political scientist at Stanford University, has done as much as anyone to elucidate the currents shaping and reshaping global politics. —Francis Fukuyama, Foreign Affairs, 21 Nov. 2024

Building flexible classrooms gives the building a lifespan beyond one class or even one era of pedagogy, which, as Fertig elucidates, are sure to evolve. —Maya Chawla, Architectural Digest, 25 Sep. 2024

Kirkwood elucidates the ways in which historically masculine spheres of activity—justice, science—have been elevated in significance over the constant, unseen and uncelebrated labor of women. —Sara Holdren, Vulture, 12 June 2024