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Glite Dictionary
elopement

elopement

3 6.9
Running away secretly with a lover to get married without parents' permission
  • noun
  • /ɪˈloʊpmənt/
translation icon : fuga
  • The reluctant bridegroom sank back into a pleasant reverie of abdication, elopement, and wedded bliss in a shepherd's hut high on some mountain meadow.

Examples

  • "Let's get back to your elopement," Millmoth said.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • You planned the elopement, didn't ya?

    Tai-Pan (1986)

  • All right, I'll buy it for you as an elopement present.

    I Wanna Hold Your Hand (1978)

  • There had been no elopement, no divorce.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • Elopement in this state, as of this day, is still not illegal.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • Here you are on our day of elopement, you're not even ready.

    The Killer Inside Me (2010)

  • it'll be the biggest elopement this town ever saw

    A Star Is Born (1937)

  • I vote for a sweet elopement and then throw the party for your husband and family/friends afterwards.

    Blog text (5)

  • The murder was followed by Mary's elopement with James Hepburn, Lord Bothwell, the primary suspect in the murder.

    Academic text (2006)

  • They decided to have a secret elopement in a small chapel to avoid family protests.

Antonyms

to stay put
  • Informal
133 2.0

Remain in the same place without moving

How Formal

grand affair
1 4.4
elopement
3 6.9

Surface Forms

elopement singular
elopements plural

Morphology

elopement = elope (transparent) = elope + ment

The noun 'elopement' is transparently formed from the verb 'elope' with the suffix '-ment', indicating the act or process of eloping.

Etymology

Elopement comes from an old French verb esloper, which meant 'to slip away' or secretly leave. A helpful way to remember it is to think of elope as 'to run away', so an elopement is a secret running away to get married.