Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Of or relating to an elephant.
- adjective Enormous in size or strength.
- adjective Ponderously clumsy.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Pertaining to the elephant; resembling an elephant.
- Hence Elephant-like; huge; immense; heavy; clumsy: as, he was of elephantine proportions; elephantine movements.
- Made or consisting of ivory. See
chryselephantine .
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Pertaining to the elephant, or resembling an elephant (commonly, in size); hence, huge; immense; heavy
- adjective (Geol.) the epoch distinguished by the existence of large pachyderms.
- adjective (Zoöl.) a huge land tortoise; esp.,
Testudo elephantina , from islands in the Indian Ocean; andT. elephantopus , from the Galapagos Islands.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective Of, pertaining to, or characteristic of
elephants . - adjective Very large.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective of great mass; huge and bulky
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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I agree about that first picture- never have I seen a clearer example of the adjective 'elephantine'.
A Long, Weaving Road sfmike 2006
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"Thank you all very much," she said -- and was gone, with a kind of elephantine swiftness.
Captain Jim Mary Grant Bruce 1918
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He had become suave and unctuous, a kind of elephantine irony pervading his laborious attempts at conciliation.
I Will Repay Emmuska Orczy Orczy 1906
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Their predominant expression was good nature, a kind of elephantine docility, which neutralized the awe inspired by his immense size.
Helen and Arthur or, Miss Thusa's Spinning Wheel Caroline Lee Hentz 1828
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Aurochs were immortalised in prehistoric cave paintings and admired for their brute strength and "elephantine" size by Julius Caesar.
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Aurochs were immortalised in prehistoric cave paintings and admired for their brute strength and "elephantine" size by Julius Caesar.
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Harsh actinic lights illuminated both the elephantine generators and horizontal warp core, and three twitching bodies on the floor.
Star Trek The Next Generation® David A. McIntee 2011
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Black Matt and Tom Morrisey merely held on to each other and lifted their clumsy-booted feet in what seemed a grotesque, elephantine dance.
Chapter 4 2010
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No, he felt obliged to compose works that couldn't possibly sustain their elephantine size, mega extended canvases that often occupied two or three entire CDs.
The Jazz Scene: Whirling Through a Wynton Wonderland Will Friedwald 2011
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Harsh actinic lights illuminated both the elephantine generators and horizontal warp core, and three twitching bodies on the floor.
Star Trek The Next Generation® David A. McIntee 2011
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