as in zeal
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Recent Examples of élan
But these artists skillfully infuse every note with passion and gritty elan.
—
George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Dec. 2025
Schwartzman, though, is comic gold as an inappropriate inlaw while Sessa brightens things up as a broken-hearted sop who insinuates himself with all the elan of a Lab puppy into the neighbor’s next door household.
—Randy Myers, Mercury News, 3 Dec. 2025
Khrushchev sought to revive revolutionary elan and push the USSR to the final stage of history, the transition from socialism to communism, during which the state apparatus would finally wither away.
—Benjamin Nathans
september 24, Literary Hub, 24 Sep. 2025
Carter and Air Mail crafted the idea for the prize, which will be awarded to one fiction writer and one nonfiction scribe whose work embodies Wolfe’s imaginative, precise and literary elan.
—Rosemary Feitelberg, Footwear News, 24 June 2025
The rule at these gatherings is to move with a semblance of elan.
—Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 16 May 2025
Rice’s second was struck with such elan that even a gargantuan goalkeeper of Thibaut Courtois’ stature and reach could not get anywhere near.
—Amy Lawrence, New York Times, 9 Apr. 2025
Trending on Billboard What comes next is a clinic in classic Jackson, with the singer popping, locking and skittering across the club’s floor while executing some of his signature spins and fancy footwork while breaking hearts and deftly dispatching would-be assassins with his signature elan.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 30 Oct. 2024
The Orioles have adeptly selected their times to be aggressive on the bases
After more than three hours of tense back and forth Wednesday night in the Bronx, the Orioles finished the Yankees not with their trademark power but with base running elan.
—Childs Walker, Baltimore Sun, 21 June 2024
George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Dec. 2025
Schwartzman, though, is comic gold as an inappropriate inlaw while Sessa brightens things up as a broken-hearted sop who insinuates himself with all the elan of a Lab puppy into the neighbor’s next door household.
—Randy Myers, Mercury News, 3 Dec. 2025
Khrushchev sought to revive revolutionary elan and push the USSR to the final stage of history, the transition from socialism to communism, during which the state apparatus would finally wither away.
—Benjamin Nathans
september 24, Literary Hub, 24 Sep. 2025
Carter and Air Mail crafted the idea for the prize, which will be awarded to one fiction writer and one nonfiction scribe whose work embodies Wolfe’s imaginative, precise and literary elan.
—Rosemary Feitelberg, Footwear News, 24 June 2025
The rule at these gatherings is to move with a semblance of elan.
—Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 16 May 2025
Rice’s second was struck with such elan that even a gargantuan goalkeeper of Thibaut Courtois’ stature and reach could not get anywhere near.
—Amy Lawrence, New York Times, 9 Apr. 2025
Trending on Billboard What comes next is a clinic in classic Jackson, with the singer popping, locking and skittering across the club’s floor while executing some of his signature spins and fancy footwork while breaking hearts and deftly dispatching would-be assassins with his signature elan.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 30 Oct. 2024
The Orioles have adeptly selected their times to be aggressive on the bases
After more than three hours of tense back and forth Wednesday night in the Bronx, the Orioles finished the Yankees not with their trademark power but with base running elan.
—Childs Walker, Baltimore Sun, 21 June 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for élan
Noun
-
After some determination and zeal, he was hired as a graduate assistant at the University of Georgia in 2010.—
D. Orlando Ledbetter,
AJC.com,
5 Feb. 2026
-
Panarin embraced it with a combination of zeal and naivety that endeared him to the Blueshirts faithful.—
Vincent Z. Mercogliano,
New York Times,
4 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
While there may not be the same level of fervor around low-profile shoes as there was at this point last year, the trend doesn’t appear to be fading any time soon.—
Riley Jones,
Footwear News,
13 Feb. 2026
-
The location is also highly desirable — close to the action, yet slightly removed from the festival’s fervor.—
Melinda Sheckells,
HollywoodReporter,
11 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The Sun is marching into your sign, beginning Aquarius Season with the unique verve your sign is known for.—
Tarot.com,
Hartford Courant,
19 Jan. 2026
-
His observations about the barbarity of women’s beauty regimens aren’t exactly new, but they are acted out with enthusiasm and verve.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
16 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
His roots on the island of Ischia mean that Umbria’s meaty, carb-heavy traditions are tempered by southern lightness and brio.—
Lee Marshall,
Condé Nast Traveler,
14 Jan. 2026
-
The killer’s obsession with achieving glory isn’t the only element that feels startlingly modern, with anachronistic touches lending the series an unusual brio.—
Inkoo Kang,
New Yorker,
8 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
As did the fact that our professors were clearly having a wonderful time, joining in our creative-writing exercises and drawing lessons with gusto.—
Richard Godwin,
Travel + Leisure,
5 Feb. 2026
-
Throughout the show – which launched with a DJ set by longtime Carey friend and producer Jermaine Dupri – Carey’s admirers dug into her substantial catalog with gusto.—
Melissa Ruggieri,
USA Today,
31 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Suckers can be stimulated to grow for a variety of reasons, such as the vigor of a plant’s root system in situations where the plant is grafted (as many non-native witchhazels and tree cultivars are).—
Miri Talabac,
Baltimore Sun,
13 Feb. 2026
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As in as soon as the game was over, with Adebayo marching a phone down to Ware’s locker space at Capital One Arena, with vigor almost as fierce as the dunk itself.—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
9 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Fire in all its forms, literal and figurative and symbolic—the consuming ardor of desire, the irreversible incinerations of loss, the flaming swords of Genesis—is the central subject of Kelly Hoffer’s second collection Fire Series.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
2 Feb. 2026
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The ardor of contention, the pride of victory, the despair of success, the memory of past injuries and the fear of future dangers all contribute to inflame the mind and to silence the voice of pity.—
David Brooks,
Mercury News,
24 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The documentary cleverly mixes theatrical elements with more conventional methods, such as archival footage showing the city’s rich history of civil disobedience, to emphasize a lineage of organized opposition and the vitality of everyday people acting together.—
Shirley Li,
The Atlantic,
14 Feb. 2026
-
What better way to understand the vitality of New York City than at a Knicks or Liberty game?—
Erin Florio,
Condé Nast Traveler,
10 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“élan.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/%C3%A9lan. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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