beggar description

Idioms  

1. Defy or outdo any possible description, as in The stage set was so elaborate, it beggared description. This term, alluding to the idea that words are insufficient to do something justice, was already used by Shakespeare in Antony and Cleopatra (2:2), “For her own person It beggared all description.”

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Example Sentences

And from sun rise to sun set, I passed through scenes and experiences that beggar description.

From Slate • Oct. 23, 2019

The acoustics are so complex that they beggar description.

From Time Magazine Archive

The scenes in the Jewish quarter at the close of the riot, beggar description.

From Rabbi and Priest A Story by Goldsmith, Milton

The horrors which were here enacted beggar description, and leave a hideous stain upon the page of history.

From Great Men and Famous Women. Vol. 1 A series of pen and pencil sketches of the lives of more than 200 of the most prominent personages in History by Horne, Charles F. (Charles Francis)

The sufferings endured by the poor Highlanders in the succeeding winter truly beggar description.

From Leading Articles on Various Subjects by Davidson, John