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Elucidate   /ɪlˈusədˌeɪt/   Listen
Elucidate

verb
(past & past part. elucidated; pres. part. elucidating)
1.
Make clear and (more) comprehensible.  Synonyms: clarify, clear up.
2.
Make free from confusion or ambiguity; make clear.  Synonyms: clear, clear up, crystalise, crystalize, crystallise, crystallize, enlighten, illuminate, shed light on, sort out, straighten out.  "Clear up the question of who is at fault"






WordNet 3.0 © 2010 Princeton University








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"Elucidate" Quotes from Famous Books



... account given next day by the sentinels, that a formal examination of the circumstances was made, the deposition of each witness, under oath, duly recorded, and a vast deal of consultation of soothsayers' books and other auguries employed to elucidate the mystery. It was universally considered typical of the anticipated battle between Count Louis and the Spaniards. When, therefore, it was known that the patriots, moving from the south-east, had arrived at Mookerheyde, and that their ...
— The Rise of the Dutch Republic, 1555-1566 • John Lothrop Motley

... tending to elucidate the point under discussion I had myself an opportunity of instituting. On the supposition of its being possible that the cow which ranges over the fertile meadows in the vale of Gloucester might ...
— The Harvard Classics Volume 38 - Scientific Papers (Physiology, Medicine, Surgery, Geology) • Various

... object of this work is "to exhibit such a number of examples of foliage and other ornamental details of the different styles as clearly to elucidate the characteristic features peculiar to each period; and drawn sufficiently large in scale to be practically useful in facilitating the labours of ...
— Notes & Queries 1849.11.17 • Various

... a fund of humor, and a healthy disposition to be easily pleased. His philosophy of life, under an appearance of careless gayety, was, perhaps, in reality deeper than that of my learned friend Mr. Mackay; for whilst the elderly scholar was laboring painfully and thanklessly to elucidate the past, the young artist was enjoying the present in his own way, and looking forward hopefully to the future. The buoyancy of spirits that George Leslie had in those days is an excellent gift for a young ...
— Philip Gilbert Hamerton • Philip Gilbert Hamerton et al

... to me, then, that, if we desire to elucidate the perplexing mystery of the Grail romances, and to place the criticism of this important and singularly fascinating body of literature upon an assured basis, we shall do so most effectually by pursuing a ...
— From Ritual to Romance • Jessie L. Weston

... to endeavour to confute demonstration by a grin, or to laugh away the deductions of arithmetick, is, surely, such a degree of effrontery, as nothing but a post of profit can produce; nor is it for the sake of these men, that I shall endeavour to elucidate my assertion; for they cannot but be well informed of the state of our taxes, whose chief employment is to receive and to squander the money which ...
— The Works of Samuel Johnson, Vol. 10. - Parlimentary Debates I. • Samuel Johnson

... derive but little benefit therefrom, as the greatest part that they read would be unintelligible to them. Whereupon I shook hands with him, and on departing said that there was no part of Scripture so difficult to understand as those very notes which were intended to elucidate it, and that the Almighty would never have inspired His saints with a desire to write what was unintelligible to the ...
— Letters of George Borrow - to the British and Foreign Bible Society • George Borrow

... you, 23rd May 1816, begging to know whether I was right in my conjecture. To this I received a very polite answer in course of post, in which you express great pleasure in complying with my request, and are so obliging as to conclude with the assurance that at any time you will be happy to elucidate my researches into my ancestors' curious and most valuable Manuscripts with such hints as your local knowledge ...
— Publications of the Scottish History Society, Vol. 36 • Sir John Lauder

... all things, let us speak the truth. Much of what I have told you needs, I feel, further explanation, but this I cannot give, for I do not understand the circumstances. Mr. Gaskell, your guardian, will, I believe, add to this account a few notes of his own, which may tend to elucidate some points, as he is in possession of certain facts of which I ...
— The Lost Stradivarius • John Meade Falkner

... of prayer, so are asceticism and discipline those of thought. This is less conspicuous in other countries, but in India it is habitually assumed that the study of what we call metaphysics or theology needs some kind of physical discipline and it will be well to elucidate this point before describing the beginnings ...
— Hinduism and Buddhism, Vol I. (of 3) - An Historical Sketch • Charles Eliot

... their intellects in the flowing bowl. Eheu, Eheu, fugaces anni labuntur! But surely it was only this morning oh, beautiful, star-eyed Harry, that you and I, wearied with the frantic vain attempts of the unmathematical professor to elucidate by appalling triangles and hieroglyphics on the blackboard the perplexities of cube root, ousted each other from the seat, sprawling upon the floor, and were chased by the LL.D. out of doors, never to return until we apologized and promised "to do ...
— The Gentleman from Everywhere • James Henry Foss

... roadside we found magnificent red slugs (Arion ater var. lamarckii[3]) and many fine snails, including the so-called Roman snail, Helix pomatia. We accosted the peasants, and enquired about the "fossilen." The word seemed to have no meaning for them, so we tried to elucidate it in the manner of the guide: where were the "stein fossilen"? Immediately, with animation, we were shown a road going westward to the town of Stein, where, it was naturally assumed, the object of our enquiry would be found. Quite discouraged, we wandered down the hill until we came to the pit ...
— Popular Science Monthly Volume 86

... the past, and refuse all history. Malone, Warburton, Dyce, and Collier, have wasted their oil. The famed theaters, Covent Garden, Drury Lane, the Park, and Tremont, have vainly assisted. Betterton, Garrick, Kemble, Kean, and Macready, dedicate their lives to this genius; him they crown, elucidate, obey, and express. The genius knows them not. The recitation begins; one golden word leaps out immortal from all this painted pedantry, and sweetly torments us with invitations to its own inaccessible homes. I remember, ...
— Representative Men • Ralph Waldo Emerson

... another general view of the extent, the magnitude, the nature, and the effect of the crimes which they allege to have been committed. They have also directed me to give an explanation of such circumstances preceding those crimes, or concomitant with them, as may tend to elucidate whatever is obscure in the articles. To those they have wished me to add a few illustrative remarks on the laws, customs, opinions, and manners of the people who are the objects of the crimes which we charge on Mr. Hastings." In following ...
— The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.III. - From George III. to Victoria • E. Farr and E. H. Nolan

... and 1792. No one knows whether the population of China is increasing or diminishing, whether people in general have large or small families, or any of the other facts that vital statistics are designed to elucidate. What is said on these subjects, however dogmatic, is no more than guess-work. Even the population of Peking is unknown. It is said to be about 900,000, but it may be anywhere between 800,000 and a million. As for the population of the Chinese Empire, it is probably safe to assume that ...
— The Problem of China • Bertrand Russell

... intended to elucidate this story—like my "Egyptian Princess"—with numerous and extensive notes placed at the end; but I was led to give up this plan from finding that it would lead me to the repetition of much that I had written in the notes to that ...
— Uarda • Georg Ebers

... rejoiced and encouraged on reading your call for an assembly of the loyal women of the nation, and feel constrained to address you a word. For although I may not be able to elucidate the principles on which a free government is founded, with the force and clearness of many others who will doubtless respond to your call, nor awake enthusiasm with that magic power that some of the anti-slavery women of the ...
— History of Woman Suffrage, Volume II • Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Matilda Joslyn Gage

... how beautiful they are." But, apart even from fortunate circumstances or enhancing activities, we have all of us experienced how much better we see or hear a work of art with the mere dull help of some historical question to elucidate or technical matter to examine into; we have been able to follow a piece of music by watching for some peculiarity of counterpoint or excellence or fault of execution; and our attention has been carried into a picture ...
— Laurus Nobilis - Chapters on Art and Life • Vernon Lee

... grass-grown courtyard of the castle, when suddenly she exclaimed, "How I wish, Walter, that we might elucidate the secret ...
— The House of Whispers • William Le Queux

... not but that the details of that narration were related, nay, perhaps even written, by the general himself. We shall therefore quote some extracts from it without hesitation, which, placed as notes, will completely elucidate the text of ...
— Memoirs, Correspondence and Manuscripts of General Lafayette • Lafayette

... of the Great Powers, was immediately corrected by M. Clemenceau, who brusquely said that it was not a proposal, but a decision, which was therefore definitive and final. Thereupon the Belgian delegate, M. Hymans, delivered a masterly speech, pleading for genuine discussion in order to elucidate matters that so closely concerned them all, and he requested the Conference to allow the smaller belligerent Allies more than two delegates. Their demand was curtly rejected by the French Premier, who informed ...
— The Inside Story Of The Peace Conference • Emile Joseph Dillon

... have also included many extra limital species. This has been done chiefly to more clearly elucidate the subject in places where the local material ...
— The Myxomycetes of the Miami Valley, Ohio • A. P. Morgan

... American Government should have at their disposal any further data that may help to elucidate the Sussex incident, the German Government beg that it may be communicated to them so that they may subject it to examination. In the event of differences of opinion arising between the two Governments the German Government now declare ...
— My Three Years in America • Johann Heinrich Andreas Hermann Albrecht Graf von Bernstorff

... that as it may, there occurred to me last night a new idea. It consisted in putting together two facts which have struck me separately on many occasions, but never conjointly. Taken together, I said to myself, and granted that both are correct, they may help to elucidate a dark problem ...
— Alone • Norman Douglas

... much fuller investigation is required before all the far-reaching effects of this momentous measure can be adequately weighed. I trust, however, that, even in the short space I am devoting to the subject, I shall be able sufficiently to elucidate those points which dominate the situation, and a consideration of which will show that if the Government succeeds in forcing up the gold value of the rupee in the manner proposed, the prosperity of the people, the popularity of our rule, and the state of our trade in the East will ...
— Gold, Sport, And Coffee Planting In Mysore • Robert H. Elliot

... obscurest saint in the calendar before Confucius or Buddha. Whether this is due to the manifest superiority of Catholicism or to the inconsequential and illogical inconsistency in the brains of the yellow race, a profound study of anthropology alone will be able to elucidate." ...
— The Reign of Greed - Complete English Version of 'El Filibusterismo' • Jose Rizal

... denounced the section of the bill which provided for its enforcement by the military. He said: "There it is; words can not make it plainer; reason can not elucidate it; no language can strengthen it or weaken it, one way or the other. There is the question whether a military man, educated in a military school, accustomed to supreme command, unaccustomed to the administration ...
— History of the Thirty-Ninth Congress of the United States • Wiliam H. Barnes

... in a standard work accessible to most English readers; and since, moreover, they did not occur in Hindustan, and only indirectly pertained to the history of that country, I have not thought it necessary to relate them more minutely than was required to elucidate the circumstances which led to the Emperor Shah Alam becoming, for the first time, a pensioner on British bounty, or a dependent on ...
— The Fall of the Moghul Empire of Hindustan • H. G. Keene

... have taken, and point to the mountains whence they have fallen. It will not be difficult for us to arrive at the origin of the Northern belief in were-wolves, and the data thus obtained will be useful in assisting us to elucidate much that would otherwise prove obscure ...
— The Book of Were-Wolves • Sabine Baring-Gould

... relied upon as agencies for accurate mathematical results in mensuration and astronomy, there is no reason why they should be deemed unreliable in matters of evidence. Wherever what they disclose can aid or elucidate the just determination of legal controversies there can be no well- founded objection to resorting to them." Frank v. Chemical Nat. Bank, 37 Superior Court (J. & S.) 34, affirmed in Court of ...
— Forty Centuries of Ink • David N. Carvalho

... stay to elucidate one consideration that might be suggested, viz., how precious a proof it is of Christ's humanity. We find it easier to bring home His true manhood to our thoughts, when we remember that He, like us, knew the pressure of physical fatigue. Not only was it a human ...
— Expositions of Holy Scripture - St. Mark • Alexander Maclaren

... how the hydrometer, or its use, in unexperienced hands may be baffled, they both distinguish and explain the value of its application; they do more—they elucidate the doctrine of fermentation, and illustrate the goodness of Providence, who has made nothing in vain, but provided nature with its own resources for conducting every operation in the great plan of the universe ...
— The American Practical Brewer and Tanner • Joseph Coppinger

... between the Silurian and Carboniferous. The same two workers also carried on further researches upon the same rocks of the continent, where already several others, F. Roemer, H. E. Beyrich, &c., were endeavouring to elucidate the succession of strata in this portion of the "Transition Series." The labours of these earlier workers, including in addition to those already mentioned, the brothers F. and G. von Sandberger, A. Dumont, J. Gosselet, ...
— Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 3 - "Destructors" to "Diameter" • Various

... now to elucidate the scheme by which Vespucci's letters were incorporated in the treatise published by those wise men of Saint-Die, entitled Cosmographie Introductio, or "Rudiments of Geography," and taken from the press on ...
— Amerigo Vespucci • Frederick A. Ober

... plates are used simply to illustrate and elucidate the text, and the information furnished in the latter is minute and accurate, and stated in well-polished Latin. As the author proceeds, he finds it necessary to disagree with Galen, and the reasons for this disagreement are given. The inevitable result follows that ...
— Fathers of Biology • Charles McRae

... that there were a great many of them about there. After dinner the two young men go into their host's study, and write a letter to the unknown fair one. They compose an ardent epistle, a declaration in fact, and they carry the letter upstairs themselves, so as to elucidate whatever might appear not perfectly ...
— Anna Karenina • Leo Tolstoy

... peculiar to New York city, and as many of your subscribers look anxiously for your answers to numerous questions put for the elucidation of apparent, scientific mysteries, I have thought that perhaps a statement in plain language of experiments made at various times, to elucidate this subject, might, in conjunction with a diagram, serve to explain even to those who have not made a special study of science a few of ...
— Scientific American Supplement, No. 430, March 29, 1884 • Various

... caught and there the matter ended. But in his own mind it refused to end. Why hadn't Barraclough put up a fight and how had Barraclough grown funny lines round his eyes? These were mysteries which for his own peace he was bound to elucidate. ...
— Men of Affairs • Roland Pertwee

... The translator, while laughing in this letter at the Germans, who, he says, ought to write three folio volumes of explanatory notes on the little volume, falls into the error of being very diffuse himself in the attempt to elucidate his author. His long letter concludes not inappropriately with these words: "I have just observed, although certainly rather late, that I have written a letter full of shadows, and instead of lighting a torch to illuminate the darkness, have, I fear, only deepened the gloom. Should this be the case, ...
— Peter Schlemihl etc. • Chamisso et. al.

... survived the wreck of time, we find an allusion to a spiritual world. Unfortunately, it is impossible to say exactly what the passage means. According to Han Fei (died B.C. 233), who wrote several chapters to elucidate the sayings of Lao Tzu, the following is ...
— Religions of Ancient China • Herbert A. Giles

... understanding of the problems involved in the perfecting of the bath in modern times. So also with regard to the Hammam of the East, an acquaintance with its plan and working is equally instructive. But to fully elucidate the history of thermo-therapeutic architecture would require a volume of itself, since the many questions that present themselves to the student of ancient baths cannot be properly understood without considerable and lengthy description. Those desirous of studying the subject of the ...
— The Turkish Bath - Its Design and Construction • Robert Owen Allsop

... oily substances came the turn of fermentation. This brought them to acids—and the law of equivalents once more confused them. They tried to elucidate it by means of the atomic theory, ...
— Bouvard and Pecuchet - A Tragi-comic Novel of Bourgeois Life • Gustave Flaubert

... gasped Anne, wondering if she were telling the literal truth. Certainly she did not DISlike Billy. But could the indifferent tolerance with which she regarded him, when he happened to be in her range of vision, be considered positive enough for liking? WHAT was Jane trying to elucidate? ...
— Anne Of The Island • Lucy Maud Montgomery

... can grow out of a few inquiries," was answered. "They may lead to the truth we so much desire to elucidate, and identify the person seen by Mr. Lamar as a very ...
— The Good Time Coming • T. S. Arthur

... was gone, I wanted to follow him, and go to the Queen; my father-in-law prevented me, and ordered me to leave the minister to elucidate such an important affair, observing that it was an infernal plot; that I had given Boehmer the best advice, and had nothing more to do with the business. Boehmer never said one word to me about the woman De Lamotte, and her name was mentioned ...
— Marguerite de Navarre - Memoirs of Marguerite de Valois Queen of Navarre • Marguerite de Navarre

... did not believe that all men were equal in such a land any more than they were in Russia. That was the sort of wall against which I was always being brought up, with a more or less painful bump, when I attempted to elucidate the institutions of this land of liberty. He seemed to have it firmly fixed in his brain that, although Count Tolstoy worked in the fields "like one of us poor brethren," he ...
— Russian Rambles • Isabel F. Hapgood

... appeals more to the mind of the inquirer than a lucid and simple exposition of the Faith. Controversy beclouds the issue. Were there any particular doubt in mind, the Question-box affords an opportunity to elucidate it. The distribution of literature will confirm the message of the spoken word and continue to carry on its work, helping the seed to germinate in God's own time. Inquiry classes and information bureaus are of a great help to ...
— Catholic Problems in Western Canada • George Thomas Daly

... Professor and Madame Oshima, they seemed equally unruffled about the proposed journey, and not at all inclined to elucidate the mystery. Experience had taught the younger woman that when information was not offered it was unwise to ask questions, so when the Professor busied himself with much ransacking of his pamphlets and papers and his wife became equally occupied with overhauling the family wardrobe ...
— In the Clutch of the War-God • Milo Hastings

... Miss Raven and at Mr. Cazalette, who were manifesting curiosity, "has made some discoveries at Blyth—about the Netherfield man—and he wants me to go over there and help him—to elucidate something, I think, but what ...
— Ravensdene Court • J. S. (Joseph Smith) Fletcher

... mathematics?" asked Average Jones solicitously. "Very well, I'll elucidate informally. Given a bullet hole in a telegraph pole at a certain distance, a bullet scar on an iron girder at a certain lesser distance, and the length of a block from here to Harrison Avenue—which I paced off while you were skillfully ordering luncheon, ...
— Average Jones • Samuel Hopkins Adams

... suspected spot. As they strain at their oars, with faces now turned towards the barque, and eyes wonderingly bent upon her, they see nought to give them a clue to the conduct of their officers, or in any way elucidate the series of mysteries, prolonged to a chain and still continuing. One imbued with a belief in the ...
— The Flag of Distress - A Story of the South Sea • Mayne Reid

... India the fire was placed on three sides of the pyre; the Dakshina on the south, the Garhapatya on the west, and the Ahavaniya on the east. The funeral rites are not described in detail here, and it is therefore difficult to elucidate and explain them. The poem assigns the funeral ceremonies of Aryan Brahmans to the Rakshases, a race different from them in origin and religion, in the same way as Homer sometimes introduces into Troy the rites ...
— The Ramayana • VALMIKI

... studies. The instant I was seated, the same noise was repeated with increased violence; I entered the room a second time, and a second time saw the bell-rope in rapid motion. I then examined every corner of the room, without discovering the least trace by which I might elucidate this singular appearance. I again grasped the rope, and again it was motionless: I sat two or three minutes in the room, I believe, during which every thing was perfectly quiet. I returned to my room, when scarcely had I seated myself, ere the same noise met ...
— The Mirror of Taste, and Dramatic Censor, Vol. I, No. 4, April 1810 • Various

... recently been able to elucidate another example from a quite different realm of the psychic life, in which likewise a greater feeling of pleasure is achieved by means of a lesser feeling of pleasure which thereby acts as an alluring premium. We had there also the opportunity ...
— Three Contributions to the Theory of Sex • Sigmund Freud

... and by non-understandable methods the verdict is reached. If the jury ask for further instructions, they file back into the court-room and the judge proceeds to elucidate the hidden mystery of the law in much the same manner he did in his charge. They return again not satisfied, and take ...
— The Man in Court • Frederic DeWitt Wells

... glad exit of the patriarchal family from their floating prison into the blooming world. The advocates of this theory have laboriously collected all the materials that favor it, and skilfully striven by their means to elucidate the whole subject of ancient paganism, especially of the Mysteries. But, after reading all that they have written, and considering it in the light of impartial researches, one is constrained to say that they have ...
— The Destiny of the Soul - A Critical History of the Doctrine of a Future Life • William Rounseville Alger

... tendencies as I have are derived from her, but I do not possess a tithe of her intellectual power. Her story- books in her youth were the classics; and when she was but twelve years of age she knew "Paradise Lost" by heart. In my recollections of her, the Bible and all works tending to elucidate its prophecies were her favorite themes of study. The retentiveness of her memory was very remarkable. If any one repeated a verse of the New Testament, she could go on and finish the chapter. Indeed, she could quote ...
— Taken Alive • E. P. Roe

... meeting. Mrs. Wilson saw at once what a hold such unusual conduct would take on the feelings of her niece, and inwardly determined to increase, if possible, the watchfulness she had invariably observed on all he said or did, as likely to elucidate his real character, well knowing that the requisites to bring or to keep happiness in the married state were numerous and indispensable; and that the display of a particular excellence, however good in itself, was by no means ...
— Precaution • James Fenimore Cooper

... feelings will best explain these answers, which no exposition can elucidate to those who are unacquainted with the conflict to which they refer, the golden hours, fleeting and precious, are earnests of the everlasting holy felicity of Heaven-(Scott). [70] The only true mode of vanquishing carnal thoughts is ...
— The Works of John Bunyan • John Bunyan

... going of many of the words that left him in the dark as to their meaning. Sandy tried to elucidate, repeating the explanations Barbara ...
— Rimrock Trail • J. Allan Dunn

... the government, they left them imprisoned for years, where they became consumptive, went out of their minds or committed suicide, and kept them only because they had no inducement to set them free, while they might be of use to elucidate some question at a judicial inquiry, safe in prison. The fate of these persons, often innocent even from the government point of view, depended on the whim, the humour of, or the amount of leisure at the disposal ...
— Resurrection • Count Leo Tolstoy

... committed myself to an interview. If he were an idiot—well, that would simplify matters much; but, if he were not, or, being one, had moments of reason, then a mystery appeared that would require all the ingenuity and tact of a Machiavelli to elucidate. The laugh which had risen from the shrubbery the night before, and the look which Dwight Pollard had given when he heard it, proved that a mystery did exist, and gave me strength to let the boy vanish from my sight with his secret ...
— The Mill Mystery • Anna Katharine Green

... ideas, as Commander-in-Chief in {p.220} South Africa generally, but present on this scene. This report is the guide in the following account, the narratives of others having been by the writer used to supplement or, where necessary, to elucidate. ...
— Story of the War in South Africa - 1899-1900 • Alfred T. Mahan

... in bringing up and recording anecdotes of this kind is to elucidate the sort of humour we refer to, and to show it as a humour of past times. A modern clergyman could hardly adopt the tone and manner of the older class of ministers—men not less useful and beloved, on account ...
— Reminiscences of Scottish Life and Character • Edward Bannerman Ramsay

... of three kindred tribes, offensive and defensive, or a systematic confederacy like that of the Iroquois. That which is true of the latter was probably in a general sense true of the former, so that a knowledge of one will tend to elucidate ...
— Houses and House-Life of the American Aborigines • Lewis H. Morgan

... could derive but little benefit from Scripture, as the greatest part would be unintelligible to them; whereupon I shook hands with him, and on departing said that there was no part of Scripture so difficult to understand as those very notes which were intended to elucidate it, and that it would never have been written if not calculated of itself to illume the minds of all ...
— The Bible in Spain • George Borrow

... the same kind, based on the construction of conceptions, is a mathema. Analytical judgements do not teach us any more about an object than what was contained in the conception we had of it; because they do not extend our cognition beyond our conception of an object, they merely elucidate the conception. They cannot therefore be with propriety termed dogmas. Of the two kinds of a priori synthetical propositions above mentioned, only those which are employed in philosophy can, according to the general mode of speech, bear this name; those of ...
— The Critique of Pure Reason • Immanuel Kant

... once more. Let it not be imagined that he had not weighed the possible consequences of thrusting himself in this fashion into Hilton Fenley's private affairs. Although the man had summoned the assistance of Scotland Yard to elucidate the mystery of his father's death, that fact alone could not secure him immunity from the law's all-embracing glance. Winter agreed with Furneaux that the profession of a private banker combined with company promotion is too often a cloak for roguery in the City of London, and the ...
— The Strange Case of Mortimer Fenley • Louis Tracy

... and gentlemen, to the sexes separately, I will elucidate my theory to the full extent of its physiological laws. For the present I have only presented its general principles, but I submit it to your criticism as the only true relation of the sexes, conducive ...
— How to Become Rich - A Treatise on Phrenology, Choice of Professions and Matrimony • William Windsor

... been careful to insert and elucidate the anomalous plurals of nouns and preterites of verbs, which in the Teutonic dialects are very frequent, and, though familiar to those who have always used them, interrupt and embarrass ...
— Prefaces and Prologues to Famous Books - with Introductions, Notes and Illustrations • Charles W. Eliot

... picture of the same kind as Edie Ochiltree and Andrew Gemmells; considering these illustrations as a sort of gallery, open to the reception of anything which may elucidate former manners, ...
— The Antiquary, Complete • Sir Walter Scott

... bibliophile, of never being able to join in the mad scramble for these "uniques;" nor need you feel that they are essential to the formation of a library. They possess no virtues perceptible to the ordinary bibliophile, and it requires all the eloquence of a Cicero to elucidate their charms when displaying them to friends. For after all, the chief point of interest in such books is their cost price, and this you may be obliged to refrain from mentioning for fear you will be ...
— Book-Lovers, Bibliomaniacs and Book Clubs • Henry H. Harper

... pathetic, neglect logic and strain after effect, their aim being to obtain the applause of the gallery rather than the approbation of the learned. But to this it may be replied that the learned on their part sacrifice a great deal to their love of dates, more or less exact; to their desire to elucidate some point which had hitherto been considered obscure, and which their explanations do not always clear up; to the temptation to display their proficiency in the ingenious art of manipulating facts and figures ...
— CELEBRATED CRIMES, COMPLETE - THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK • ALEXANDRE DUMAS, PERE

... given collection of facts, of which the central idea is distinct and generally admitted, and consequently offers a firm basis for explanation. I illustrate from this and from well-founded analogies. Continuing from these, I seek to elucidate darker things. I search out the simplest radical ideas and perceptions, the germ-cells from whose combined growth mythical tales form ...
— Modern Mythology • Andrew Lang

... summoned in due course. It sat two days after the accident. No evidence, tending to further elucidate the matter, was given, than had been elicited that first night before Mr. Verner; except the medical evidence. Dr. West and a surgeon from a neighbouring town, who had jointly made the post-mortem examination, testified that there was a ...
— Verner's Pride • Mrs. Henry Wood

... at this part of the town, for the protection of the boats, and as a check upon the incursions of the Indians. In all this statement, there was every appearance of truth, but in no part of it did Gerald find wherewith to elucidate what he himself had witnessed. He described the costume, and questioned of the mysterious figure, but the only reply he obtained from the independent tanner, when he admitted to him that he had been so near a visitor on ...
— The Canadian Brothers - or The Prophecy Fulfilled • John Richardson

... constructed of black velvet with a flowing sash and lace cuffs, hardly seemed adapted to our purpose. I was also impelled gently to veto her next notion, which was for a replica of the apparel commonly attributed to the personage known as Robin Hood and his deluded adherents. As I was at some pains to elucidate for her understanding, I could never countenance any recognition, however remote, of an individual of the type of Robin Hood, who, however noble and generous he may have been in certain aspects, was beyond peradventure a ...
— Fibble, D. D. • Irvin Shrewsbury Cobb

... such an object to be desirable, would the present state of the duchy afford materials for the purpose. The lover of researches into architectural antiquity no sooner directs his attention to that branch of his subject, which, as tending to elucidate the habits of his forefathers, would be peculiarly interesting, than he finds an insuperable obstacle opposed to his progress. The zeal of churchmen and the pride of barons, have preserved us many noble relics of ecclesiastical and castellated buildings; ...
— Architectural Antiquities of Normandy • John Sell Cotman

... An effluence ampler shall beget, And power beyond your play— Shall quell the shades you fail to rout, Yea, searching every secret out Elucidate ...
— John Marr and Other Poems • Herman Melville

... of Johnstone's best and simplest plan, with a few sentences of explanation, will sufficiently elucidate Elkington's mystery, and will comprehend the case of all simple superficial springs. Perhaps in Agricultural Britain, no formation is more common than moderate elevations of pervious material, such as chalk, gravel, and imperfect stone or rock of various ...
— Farm drainage • Henry Flagg French

... inimical to each other. Indeed, to call a work of art purely and simply "scientific," is tantamount to saying that it is dry and uninspired by the muse. In dwelling so long on this point my object was not so much to elucidate Liszt's meaning as Chopin's character ...
— Frederick Chopin as a Man and Musician - Volume 1-2, Complete • Frederick Niecks

... of Historical Romance is, to group historical characters according to their internal natures, and thus to elucidate and illustrate history. This illustration then leads to the third task, which is the discovery and exposition of the motives which impel individual historical personages to the performance of great historical acts, and from outwardly, ...
— Old Fritz and the New Era • Louise Muhlbach

... Literary and Philosophical Society of Manchester. His practical inquiries as to the strength of boilers have led to his being frequently called upon to investigate the causes of boiler explosions, on which subject he has published many elaborate reports. The study of this subject led him to elucidate the law according to which the density of steam varies throughout an extensive range of pressures and atmospheres,—in singular confirmation of what had before been provisionally calculated from the mechanical theory of heat. ...
— Industrial Biography - Iron Workers and Tool Makers • Samuel Smiles

... acquired the courage of his inventions. We may believe that the adventures with Jack, Dan, and the Doctor are elaborated here and there; but even those happened substantially as recorded. There is little to add, then, to the story of that halcyon trip, and not much to elucidate. ...
— Mark Twain, A Biography, 1835-1910, Complete - The Personal And Literary Life Of Samuel Langhorne Clemens • Albert Bigelow Paine

... apparently concurs with him exactly; and Mr. Whitehead's poem, called "Variety," is written solely to elucidate this simple proposition. Prior likewise advises the husband to send his wife abroad, and let her see the ...
— Anecdotes of the late Samuel Johnson, LL.D. - during the last twenty years of his life • Hester Lynch Piozzi

... Historian something more than the incidental references which may suffice in other periods. In earlier days, he may draw upon Piers Plowman or Chaucer for evidence and illustrations of the prevalent social conditions; in the century following he may appeal to Milton and Bunyan to elucidate aspects of Puritanism. But the Elizabethan literature is in a degree quite unique, the expression of the whole spirit of the time, its many-sidedness, its vigour, its creative force; helping us to realise ...
— England Under the Tudors • Arthur D. Innes

... reaches of water, I determined upon following the north-west branch. I called the south-west branch the "Clarke," in compliment to the Rev. W. B. Clarke of Paramatta, who has been, and is still, most arduously labouring to elucidate the meteorology and the geology of this part of the world. About three miles above the junction, a creek of considerable size joined the Burdekin from the northward. Wherever the ridges approached the banks of the river, gullies which were scrubby at their heads, became numerous. ...
— Journal of an Overland Expedition in Australia • Ludwig Leichhardt

... their subsequent interview with Police-Superintendent Kennedy. To some extent this question can be answered, at this point; but there will still remain some mysteries unexplainable until the end of this narration, and even some impossible to elucidate until the close of the war and the re-union of Northern and Southern society on the old basis, makes it possible to reveal all that may ...
— Shoulder-Straps - A Novel of New York and the Army, 1862 • Henry Morford

... strength, intellectual and physical, was not to be moved by such trifles. He showed not the slightest emotion, nor did he betray any especial interest in what the lawyer was saying. His attitude was that of attention to a matter which it was his duty to understand and to elucidate. But that was all. He wished Mr. Screw would talk a little faster, and say what he required and go; but he was too courteous to ...
— Doctor Claudius, A True Story • F. Marion Crawford

... are two parallel lines drawn on this floor, which, notwithstanding they may be very contiguous to each other, and advance ad infinitum, can never approximate so near as to effect a junction, in which fundamental axiom all mathematicians profess a perfect congruity and acquiescence:—now, to elucidate the hypothesis a little, we will suppose here is one line; and we will further suppose here is another line. [Draws his cane over LOVEYET'S feet, which makes him jump.] Now we will suppose that line is you, and this line is compos'd, ...
— The Politician Out-Witted • Samuel Low

... that opinion; and I remain busy and poor. I see a pretty woman. Is she responsive or unresponsive to intelligently expressed sentiment? I don't know. You don't care. I do. My curiosity is piqued. She becomes to me an abstract question which scientific experiment alone can elucidate—" ...
— The Firing Line • Robert W. Chambers

... kissed him tenderly, her face very sweet with affection. "Please elucidate, little brother. Has mother ...
— The Halo • Bettina von Hutten

... negro neighbours; and that this frontier state would thus become the theatre of continual contests, terminating alternately, in the temporary occupation of Timbuctoo by the Arabs, and in their re-expulsion by negroes. In order to elucidate the state of things, which we have here supposed, we need not go further than to the history of Europe in our own days. How often during the successful ravages of Buonaparte, that great Arab chieftain of Christendom, might we not have drawn from the ...
— Lander's Travels - The Travels of Richard Lander into the Interior of Africa • Robert Huish

... darting its enlivening rays through the crevices and windows of the antique mansion, recovered her exhausted spirits, and dissipated, in some degree, the terrors which hovered about her mind. She endeavoured to reason coolly on the events of the past night, but reason could not elucidate them. Not the least noise had been heard since she last returned to her chamber: she therefore expected to discover no traits which might tend to a disclosure of those mysteries. She consoled herself only with a fixed determination to leave the desolate mansion. Should John come there that day, ...
— Alonzo and Melissa - The Unfeeling Father • Daniel Jackson, Jr.

... that poem as the one full and perfect voice of many silent centuries I only touch, for it would require a volume to elucidate its many-sided significance. It is not one thing, but many things. In one aspect it is an autobiography as faithful as those of St. Augustine or of Rousseau, though transcendently purer and greater. ...
— Great Men and Famous Women, Vol. 7 of 8 • Charles F. (Charles Francis) Horne

... To elucidate the question, let us consider the parallel relation of other imponderable forces to matter. Take, for instance, electricity. A galvanic battery is set in action. Chemical decomposition is in progress; one or more new compounds are produced; the quantitative differences are exactly accounted for. ...
— Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 61, No. 379, May, 1847 • Various

... newspapers contained a paragraph which may possibly elucidate the above mystery, and to ...
— Burlesques • William Makepeace Thackeray

... and important passage is also one of great difficulty, for it is full of technical terms and allusions which would need a small treatise to elucidate properly. For example, it seems to imply the doctrine of two Logoi that Clement of Alexandria was accused of teaching, and which is found in certain Hellenistic writings. The "Body of Light" is the Astroeides ...
— The Gnosis of the Light • F. Lamplugh

... matters of detail he was increasingly obliging, but the bearing of Graham on the great issues that were evidently being contested so closely beyond the sound-proof walls that enclosed him, he would not elucidate. He evaded, as politely as possible, every question on the position of affairs in ...
— The Sleeper Awakes - A Revised Edition of When the Sleeper Wakes • H.G. Wells

... was, despite its difficulties, still possible of solution; and Hooker set himself to work to elucidate it. ...
— The Campaign of Chancellorsville • Theodore A. Dodge

... for every evil existing in modern civilization. Political and social, religious and civil, mental and moral government, according to him, hinged upon the study and knowledge of the different organs of the human brain, and he labored incessantly to elucidate and illustrate this subject, upon which he thought the salvation of the world depended. For a number of years I enjoyed the privilege of his friendship, and I have had innumerable opportunities of hearing ...
— Records of a Girlhood • Frances Anne Kemble

... our purpose after the previous discussion to attempt to elucidate still further the idea of art by following ...
— The Works of Frederich Schiller in English • Frederich Schiller

... side-note, "That the Consent held no concent with the Dragon and Hector." Her voyage will be found in the sequel of this section, with, several other articles connected with it, which have not been noticed in Astley's Collection, and which appeared necessary to elucidate the early commercial connections of England with India, and the manners and customs of the eastern nations. We have endeavoured to amend the uncouth and abrupt style of Purchas, but it was impossible to clear up his obscurities; and in many instances ...
— A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Vol. VIII. • Robert Kerr

... noticed that the early uterine eggs were smaller than the supposed ovarian eggs; Prevost and Dumas[255] had observed the presence in the Graafian follicle of a minute spherical body, which, however, they hesitated to call the ovum; it was left to von Baer to elucidate the structure of the follicle and to prove that this small sphere was indeed the mammalian ovum. His discovery was confirmed by Sharpey and by Allen Thomson. Von Baer found the germinal vesicle in the eggs of frogs, snakes, molluscs, and worms, ...
— Form and Function - A Contribution to the History of Animal Morphology • E. S. (Edward Stuart) Russell

... departure; and consoled Captain Ball with hopes of assistance, which he strained every nerve to obtain from all possible sources. The following most urgent epistle to Sir James St. Clair Erskine, on this occasion, will not only convey the state of his lordship's feelings to every intelligent reader, but elucidate the genuine principles on which his lordship ventures to advise a departure from the strictness of etiquette in the discharge ...
— The Life of the Right Honourable Horatio Lord Viscount Nelson, Vol. II (of 2) • James Harrison

... do, and it is possible that I might have removed some of the more obvious difficulties of the narrative and brought it one degree nearer to scientific acceptance. Let me then write down the only explanation which seems to me to elucidate what I know to my cost to have been a series of facts. My theory may seem to be wildly improbable, but at least no one can venture to ...
— The Last Galley Impressions and Tales - Impressions and Tales • Arthur Conan Doyle



Words linked to "Elucidate" :   lucubrate, expatiate, obfuscate, dilate, elucidation, lucidity, elucidative, explain, expand, disambiguate, expound, exposit, enlarge, flesh out, elaborate, demystify, explicate



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