depict
Americanverb
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to represent by or as by drawing, sculpture, painting, etc; delineate; portray
-
to represent in words; describe
Synonym Usage
Depict, portray, sketch imply a representation of an object or scene by colors or lines, or by words. Depict emphasizes vividness of detail: to depict the confusion of departure. Portray emphasizes faithful representation: We could not portray the anguish of the exiles. Sketch suggests the drawing of the outlines of the most prominent features or details, often in a preparatory way: to sketch the plans for a community development.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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depictsimple
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depictssimple
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have depictedperfect
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has depictedperfect
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am depictingprogressive
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are depictingprogressive
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is depictingprogressive
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have been depictingperfect progressive
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has been depictingperfect progressive
Past
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depictedsimple
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had depictedperfect
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was depictingprogressive
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were depictingprogressive
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had been depictingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of depict
First recorded in 1625–35; from Latin dēpictus (past participle of dēpingere ), equivalent to dē- de- + pic- past participle stem of pingere “to paint” ( see paint) + -tus past participle suffix
Explanation
When you depict something, you draw a picture of it, describe it, or show what it looks like. So grab a crayon, a paint brush, or even an Etch-A-Sketch and start depicting. From the Latin depictus, meaning “to portray, paint, sketch, describe,” depict is a way to communicate what you see. To explain to an alien what a banana is, you can either depict it with drawings, describe it in words, or both. But be careful. Writes author Joyce Maynard, "The painter who feels obligated to depict his subjects as uniformly beautiful or handsome and without flaws will fall short of making art."
Vocabulary lists containing depict
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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ACT Vocabulary List
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STAAR English I: The Language of the Test 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Flag patterns that follow a significant trend depict a short-term consolidation of that trend, and are often resolved in the same direction of the trend that followed them.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 26, 2026
Several chapters depict tortuous scenes from Gerry’s life as they play out in memory and on the page.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
Other than that, this wasn’t the decisive victory that some depict it as.
From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026
Singaporean photographer Aik Beng Chia used an image generator to depict the lives of transgender people in the city-state's Bugis street, then known as a red-light district, in the 1970s and 80s.
From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026
Some of the sculptures depict his parents with two boys.
From "Warcross" by Marie Lu
One depicts a bison, while the other is commonly described as a mask.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 28, 2026
He took inspiration from paintings, including Alexandre Cabanel’s 1847 work “The Fallen Angel,” which depicts the devil after his fall from heaven.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
The Hay Wain sits on a 6ft-wide canvas and depicts a scene at Flatford with a horse and cart in the river and Willy Lott's Cottage on the bank.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
One depicts the Buddha scrolling on a smart phone.
From Barron's ● Jul. 7, 2026
Because the carving depicts a man instead of an event, the date is generally thought to be the dead man’s name.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
Both had an underlying conservation message but drew viewers in with the colorful and chaotic worlds they depicted.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
Hopefully the generation of Gen Z musicians depicted in the film still lust over the chance to try, even as a wretched economy makes road-dogging harder today while digital fame beckons instead.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
The distributor explained that the character depicted was a "living mummy" who was returned to her parents as a young adult, many years after having been kidnapped as a child.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
In 1995, when he was asked to lecture about childhood as depicted in 18th-century British art, what surprised him was all the dogs pictured among the children.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
He was with Washington on Christmas night in 1776, when the Americans crossed the Delaware, depicted in a painting made in 1819.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
In 2023, an AI image depicting an explosion at the Pentagon briefly rattled the markets.
From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026
“Drayton and Mackenzie,” Alexander Starritt’s third novel, starts by depicting these two men as they pursue divergent career paths.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
When a volunteer decided to thumb through it recently, she discovered the original print depicting a swimming pool, signed by the artist, who died last month aged 88.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
Click here for a graphic depicting differences and similarities in dementia risk across different countries.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 13, 2026
A second sarcophagus had been placed beside the woman, depicting a man.
From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
