elegant

/ˈelɪɡənt/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈelɪɡənt/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈe-li-gənt/ (ame, mw)

elegant — 形容詞

  • elegantpositive
  • more elegantcomparative
  • most elegantsuperlative

1. having a graceful, well-proportioned quality in how someone or something looks,

1.形容詞B1
釋義

優雅的

外表、動作或舉止優美有品味的

having a graceful, well-proportioned quality in how someone or something looks, moves, or behaves, so that the overall effect feels pleasing and carefully chosen.

例句

Hugo looked elegant in his dark suit and polished leather shoes.

Hugo 穿著深色西裝和擦亮的皮鞋，看起來十分優雅。

collocation: elegant suit

The hotel dining room had an elegant design with tall windows and candles.

這家飯店的餐廳擁有高窗和蠟燭，設計十分雅緻。

同義詞
  • graceful

    focuses more on smooth, flowing movement than on overall style

  • refined

    emphasises cultivated taste and politeness rather than visual beauty

  • stylish

    stresses current fashion and trendiness; less formal than elegant

  • sophisticated

    implies worldly experience and complex taste; broader than visual appearance

反義詞
  • clumsy

    lacking grace in movement or design

  • tacky

    showy or cheap in an unattractive way

文法句型

elegant + noun

be + elegant

look/feel/find + elegant

用法筆記

Frequently collocates with clothing (elegant suit, elegant dress), architecture (elegant building, elegant room), personal style (elegant manners, elegant writing), and natural or artistic movements (elegant walk, elegant dance).

常見錯誤

❌The weather was elegant today.
✅The weather was beautiful today.
💡elegant describes refined grace or style, not general pleasantness.
❌He gave an elegant meal for the guests.
✅He gave an elegant dinner for the guests.
💡elegant collocates with dinner/party, not with meal as a dish.

2. describing a theory, plan, or method that is both impressively simple and clever

2.形容詞B2
釋義

簡潔巧妙

簡單但聰明有效的

describing a theory, plan, or method that is both impressively simple and cleverly effective — achieving its purpose with no unnecessary steps or parts.

例句

The engineer proposed an elegant solution using just one small motor instead of ten.

那位工程師提出了一個簡潔巧妙的解決方案，只用一個小馬達取代了十個。

elegant solution — common academic collocation

Cyrus found an elegant way to sort the files by color on the computer.

Cyrus 找到一種簡潔巧妙的方式，在電腦上用顏色來整理檔案。

同義詞
  • neat

    less formal and slightly weaker than elegant; common in everyday speech

  • ingenious

    emphasises originality and cleverness more than simplicity

反義詞
  • clumsy

    awkward or poorly designed, lacking elegance in execution

  • complicated

    needlessly complex, the opposite of simple and clean

文法句型

elegant + solution/plan/theory/method

elegant in + possessive + simplicity/design

用法筆記

Used almost exclusively for abstract things — solutions, proofs, methods, theories, designs. Never used for people, places, or concrete objects in this sense (use sense 1 GRACEFUL & STYLISH instead). Distinguish from sense 1 by whether the praise is about visual grace or about intellectual neatness.

常見錯誤

❌She wore an elegant dress to the party' (meaning clever).
✅She wore an elegant dress to the party' (this matches sense 1 only). For the clever-and-simple meaning, use with abstract nouns: 'an elegant solution.