elephantine

CEFRC2

/ɛl.əˈfæn.tin/

adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    Very large, heavy, or slow-moving like an elephant.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Extra detail

    Any member of the subfamily Elephantinae of elephants and their extinct close relatives.

Examples

  • The giant machine moved with slow, elephantine grace across the field.

  • Her elephantine memory impressed everyone.

At a glance

Sits at C2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
4
Parts of speech
1
Citations
4
Synonyms
5

Also pronounced

  • /ɛl.əˈfæn.taɪn/

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meanings

  1. Very large.

  2. Of, relating to, resembling, or characteristic of elephants.

More examples

In context

  • The elephantine creature roamed slowly.

  • The scene around them was currently plunged into gloom. Dark mists swirled round them and elephantine shapes lurked indistinctly in the shadows.

  • Ugly, clumsy and far from silent, with elephantine point mechanisms at the car sheds, it nevertheless works and has been brought up to date electrically for further public service.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

His blank footsteps shook the floorboards as he lumbered across the room.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

From Latin elephantīn(us). By surface analysis, elephant + -ine.