Skip to content
GREMockTests
GRE vocabulary

elucidate

verbHigh-frequency wordMore E words

to make something clear by explaining it

Word origin: From Latin lucidus, clear or bright, from lux, light.

Start a free GRE mock test 39 minutes · free · instant score
In a sentence

Elucidate in a sentence

Here are example sentences showing elucidate in a sentence.

The professor used diagrams to elucidate the abstract theory.

The appendix elucidates the statistical methods that the main text only summarizes.

Synonyms
clarifyexplainilluminate
Antonyms

Quick GRE check

Question 1 of 3

3 questions, about 2 minutes. How would you do on the real test?

Verbal · Text Completion

Critics initially dismissed the composer's late works as merely blank, but later scholars recognized in them a deliberate restraint that concealed considerable technical sophistication.

Select the word that best completes the sentence.

Usage & nuance

Using “elucidate” well

Elucidate means to throw light on something difficult, making it clear through explanation. It is more formal than explain and emphasizes clearing up confusion.

Common questions

Questions about “elucidate”

Elucidate (verb) means to make something clear by explaining it
Here is elucidate used in an example sentence: "The professor used diagrams to elucidate the abstract theory." Another example: "The appendix elucidates the statistical methods that the main text only summarizes."
Common synonyms for elucidate include clarify, explain, illuminate.
Antonyms of elucidate include obscure, confuse, muddle.
Clusters with clarify, explain, and illuminate in Sentence Equivalence. Its antonyms obscure, confuse, and muddle mark the opposite.
Yes. Elucidate is a high-frequency GRE word, so it is worth prioritising as you build your vocabulary.

See these words the way the GRE tests them.

Take the free 39-minute GRE Quick Mock Test and meet words like this inside real Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence questions, with a worked solution for every answer.