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Definition of "elephantine" [el•e•phan•tine]

  • Of or relating to an elephant. (adjective)
  • Enormous in size or strength: "the proliferation of superstores, superstadiums, [and] elephantine convention centers” ( Herbert Muschamp). (adjective)
  • Ponderously clumsy. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "elephantine" in a sentence
  • "I agree about that first picture- never have I seen a clearer example of the adjective 'elephantine'."
  • ""Thank you all very much," she said -- and was gone, with a kind of elephantine swiftness."
  • "He had become suave and unctuous, a kind of elephantine irony pervading his laborious attempts at conciliation."