flesh out

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Related to flesh out: flush out

flesh out

vb (adverb)

1. (tr) to give substance to (an argument, description, etc)

2. (intr) to expand or become more substantial

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

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Verb	1.	flesh out - make fat or plump; "We will plump out that poor starving child" fat, fatten, fatten out, fatten up, plump out, plump, fill out alter, change, modify - cause to change; make different; cause a transformation; "The advent of the automobile may have altered the growth pattern of the city"; "The discussion has changed my thinking about the issue"
	2.	flesh out - add details, as to an account or idea; clarify the meaning of and discourse in a learned way, usually in writing; "She elaborated on the main ideas in her dissertation" elaborate, expatiate, expound, lucubrate, dilate, exposit, enlarge, expand clarify, clear up, elucidate - make clear and (more) comprehensible; "clarify the mystery surrounding her death" detail - provide details for exposit, set forth, expound - state; "set forth one's reasons" illustrate, instance, exemplify - clarify by giving an example of particularise, particularize, specialise, specialize, specify - be specific about; "Could you please specify your criticism of my paper?"
	3.	flesh out - become round, plump, or shapely; "The young woman is fleshing out" fill out, round gain, put on - increase (one's body weight); "She gained 20 pounds when she stopped exercising"

Translations

arricchire di informazioni

w>flesh out

vt sep idea, proposal, thesis etc → ausgestalten; details → eingehen auf (+acc)

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

References in periodicals archive ?

Goudge's novelist sensibilities help to flesh out the biography of the saint, about whom the basics are known, if not the particularities.

My God and My All; The Story of Saint Francis of Assisi

It will take time to flesh out the many characters in this soap-style drama, and hopefully it will happen soon because one or two of them are currently little more than cardboard cut-outs.