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Glite Dictionary
📝 To add details 🍑 To get rounder
to flesh out

to flesh out

15 4.0
To add more details to an idea, plan, or argument
  • phrasal verb
  • /flɛʃ aʊt/
translation icon : desarrollar
  • She took the feedback and worked to flesh out her argument in the essay.
  • flesh out the idea
  • flesh out the character
  • flesh out each theme

So to flesh this out, let let's think of a more concrete example.

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Examples

  • Continued efforts to flesh out a format that has strong technical features and instructional utility are warranted.

    Academic text (2013)

  • And we'll do some more examples next time to flesh this out a little bit more.

  • I can do some work on my end to flesh it out, if need be.

    Blog text (7)

  • Could you just elaborate on that and kind of flesh out how that came about?

  • So to flesh this out, let let's think of a more concrete example.

    Alex O'Connor

  • Such a preference may help us already flesh out our initial claim.

    Academic text (1995)

  • Remember, no matter how good an idea seems, it's still only an idea until it's fleshed out.

    Academic text (2009)

  • I think this is really meant for architects and just like designers to kind of flesh out their ideas.

  • And once we made that shift and said, no, you have a good concept, you lead with it and you flesh it out that that certainly helped.

  • Some of these assignments may prove worthy enough to flesh out, perform, and eventually submit for publication.

    Academic text (2010)

Synonyms

to expand
vsto flesh out
225 3.5

To add more details to explain something better

often stresses adding useful specifics rather than just increasing size
to elaborate
vsto flesh out
79 4.2

To give more details or explain something more fully

focuses more on adding concrete details than on broad development
to flesh
vsto flesh out
27 6.1

Add more details to make something fuller

has the same meaning but is a two word phrasal form
to expound
vsto flesh out
  • Formal
20 7.3

Explain something in detail so people understand it

adds practical details and examples rather than only explaining deeply
to round out
vsto flesh out
15 3.5

Make something more complete by adding parts

focuses on filling missing parts to reach completeness rather than depth
to fill out
vsto flesh out
14 2.8

To become or make something fuller by adding more

is less specific to ideas and may include physical or cosmetic filling

Antonyms

to simplify
99 2.5

Make something easier to understand or use

to truncate
8 7.0

To shorten something by cutting off a part, often the end

How Detailed

to elaborate
79 4.2
to flesh out
15 4.0
outline
59 2.7
to mention
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

flesh out infinitive
fleshed out past
fleshed out past participle
fleshing out present participle
fleshes out third person singular

Morphology

flesh + out

The components 'flesh' (body tissue; to add flesh) and 'out' (outward/completing) give a clear cue of becoming more fleshy or fuller, so a learner who knows the parts can form a plausible meaning. However, the verb 'flesh out' is more frequently used metaphorically to mean 'add detail', and particle-verb senses vary, so the bodily sense is only partially predictable and may be confused without exposure.

Etymology

The phrasal verb flesh out comes from the image of adding flesh to bare bones. When meat is put on the bones the shape becomes clear, so to 'flesh out' an idea means to add details and make it complete.