depiction
Americannoun
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depictions
plural
-
representation in image form, as in a painting or illustration.
Picasso's painting Guernica is an accurate depiction of the horrors of war.
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representation or characterization in words.
Mark Twain's letters are a clear depiction of his life and times.
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an act or instance of depicting.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of depiction
First recorded in 1625–35; from Latin dēpictiōn-, stem of dēpictiō “portrayal,” equivalent to dēpict(us), past participle of dēpingere “to portray” + -iō -ion ( def. )
Explanation
A depiction is a true representation of something, like the depiction of life as a Jewish teenager in hiding during World War II in Anne Frank's "The Diary of a Young Girl." The word depiction comes from the Latin word for "painting or description," depictionem. If a portrait really looks like you, it's a good depiction — the painter or photographer has done a great job. Another way to give a depiction of an experience is to tell or write about it in so much detail that it's like your audience is really there. Actors who portray real people work hard to make their depictions as true as they can.
Vocabulary lists containing depiction
Content Summary G.1: Principles of Geography
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The Freedom Writers Diary
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"Simon's Saga," Vocabulary from Episode 19
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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:
Another place this tension can be seen is in their depiction of female vikings.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 23, 2026
Sam Adams argues that while newspapers in real life are dying, this onscreen depiction thrums with life.
From Slate ● Sep. 23, 2026
They made off with a portrait titled "Madame Colonna Romano" and the depiction of a woman at a well called "Jeune femme au puits", his office said.
From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026
Source music plays an important part in Hitchcock’s depiction of evil.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
It’s a depiction of the last meal that Jesus shares with his disciples, and Leonardo uses the mural to tell a story about how the disciple Judas betrays Jesus.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
Mr. Bond guides readers through ancient depictions of animals, including the gorgeous array of prehistoric cave paintings, with their mixture of dangerous predators and powerful herbivores.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
The translator who inspired Christopher Nolan when crafting his adaptation of Homer’s ‘The Odyssey,’ is calling out the film’s character depictions.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
They include depictions of Manila as a clown and a snake, among other things.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
The diary comics of interactions between stick-figure depictions of Wertz and her son, Felix, will resonate with anyone who has ever drowsed through days with a newborn.
From Salon ● Jun. 27, 2026
Maybe I had bought into the Western depictions of what it meant to fall in love.
From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi
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.
