describe

[ dih-skrahyb ]

verb (used with object)

, de·scribed, de·scrib·ing.

1. to tell or depict in written or spoken words; give an account of:

   He described the accident very carefully.

   Synonyms: relate, tell, recount, represent, characterize, portray

2. to pronounce, as by a designating term, phrase, or the like; label:

   There are few people who may be described as geniuses.

3. to indicate; be a sign of; denote:

   Conceit, in many cases, describes a state of serious emotional insecurity.

4. to represent or delineate by a picture or figure.
5. Geometry. to draw or trace the outline of:

   to describe an arc.

describe

/ dɪˈskraɪb /

verb

1. to give an account or representation of in words
2. to pronounce or label

   he has been described as a genius

3. to draw a line or figure, such as a circle

Derived Forms

• deˈscribable, adjective
• deˈscriber, noun

Other Words From

• de·scriba·ble adjective
• de·scriba·bili·ty noun
• de·scriba·bly adverb
• de·scriber noun
• nonde·scriba·ble adjective
• over·de·scribe verb (used with object) overdescribed overdescribing
• prede·scribe verb (used with object) predescribed predescribing
• rede·scribe verb (used with object) redescribed redescribing
• self-de·scribed adjective
• unde·scriba·ble adjective
• unde·scriba·ble·ness noun
• unde·scriba·bly adverb
• unde·scribed adjective
• well-de·scribed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of describe¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English describen, from Latin dēscrībere, equivalent to dē- de- + scrībere “to write”

Word History and Origins

Origin of describe¹

C15: from Latin dēscrībere to copy off, write out, delineate, from de- + scrībere to write

Synonym Study

Describe, narrate agree in the idea of giving an account of something. To describe is to convey in words the appearance, nature, attributes, etc., of something. The word often implies vividness of personal observation: to describe a scene, an event. To narrate is to recount the occurrence of something, usually by giving the details of an event or events in the order of their happening. Narrate thus applies only to that which happens over time: to narrate an incident.

Example Sentences

What that means, as Doughty described and we verified, is that for the time being — maybe for the first time in our adult lifetimes — we can experience the island without a crowd for company.

From Washington Post

Employees of the various businesses who received a ticket described their interactions with police as positive.

From Voice of San Diego

Over a century ago, Proust inhaled a fresh-baked madeleine that triggered vivid memories of his childhood, describing the experience in “Swann’s Way,” the first of seven volumes that compose “In Search of Lost Time.”

From Washington Post

This feat, described November 19 at a symposium hosted by Columbia University, is another example of the tremendous progress under way in linking brains to computers.

From Science News

“We need those people who are in the community to describe the situation in their communities,” Usman said.

From Voice of San Diego

The man, Joshua Kemp, told what police describe as “a bogus story that quickly fell apart.”

From The Daily Beast

It is not only clerics and Islamic ideologues who use offensive words and images to describe the sexual life of Westerners.

From The Daily Beast

The latest novel from Samantha Harvey is truly superb, but left its reviewer at a loss for how to describe it.

From The Daily Beast

But throughout all this, Malone describe herself as “oddly responsible,” wanting to help her moms pay the bills as young as 10.

From The Daily Beast

I asked him to describe the U.S. mission that will likely revert back to the embassy it was more than a half century ago.

From The Daily Beast

It was difficult to describe—a little sterner, a little wilder, a faint emphasis of the barbaric peering through it.

From Project Gutenberg

But that she could calmly tell him about it, that she could deliberately describe this effect upon her of another man—!

From Project Gutenberg

Words fail to describe my feelings as I watched the clothes come off him and dry ones go on just as if hands were arranging them.

From Project Gutenberg

To describe the joy, the intense and tumultuous delight of that moment, were beyond the power of words.

From Project Gutenberg

It is impossible to describe the thrilling effect produced by this striking ceremony.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• call
• characterize
• chronicle
• construe
• define
• depict
• detail
• express
• illustrate
• interpret
• label
• name
• outline
• portray
• recount
• report
• represent
• specify
• tell
• term