elaborate

adjective

1 an elaborate political system:

complicated, detailed, intricate, complex, involved, tortuous, convoluted, serpentine, tangled, knotty, confusing, bewildering, baffling;

painstaking, careful;

inextricable, entangled, impenetrable, Byzantine, Daedalian, Gordian;

rare involute, involuted.

▷antonyms simple.

2 an elaborate plasterwork ceiling:

ornate, decorated, embellished, adorned, ornamented, fancy, overelaborate, fussy, busy, ostentatious, extravagant, showy, baroque, rococo, florid, wedding-cake, gingerbread;

informal flash, flashy.

▷antonyms plain.

verb

both sides refused to elaborate on their reasons:

expand on, enlarge on, add to, flesh out, add flesh to, put flesh on the bones of, add detail to, expatiate on;

supplement, reinforce, augment, extend, broaden, develop, fill out, embellish, enhance, amplify, refine, improve.