depiction

American  

[dih-pik-shuhn] / dɪˈpɪk ʃən /

noun

• depictions
  plural

1. representation in image form, as in a painting or illustration.

   Picasso's painting Guernica is an accurate depiction of the horrors of war.

2. representation or characterization in words.

   Mark Twain's letters are a clear depiction of his life and times.

3. an act or instance of depicting.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• depictions
  plural

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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. )

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

depiction depictions

Its outlined forms of three rabbits and a deer either take shape out of Hua’s smoky ink washes or evanesce into them, a depiction of ecological destruction that seems contemporary.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026

They were a portrait titled "Portrait of Madame Colonna Romano" and a depiction of a woman at a well called "Young Woman at the Well".

From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026

Sorkin’s depiction of Zuckerberg as a sniveling coward might be smug, but it’s not inaccurate.

From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2026

Another place this tension can be seen is in their depiction of female vikings.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 23, 2026

Praised Fulvia for what is, in fact, a really good idea, and cleared the way to continue her own on-air depiction of the Mockingjay.

From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins

The dark realities of religious animosity, including depictions of grossly antisemitic images all too common from this era, are also examined.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

“Partita” cannot synthesize this theatricality with the more subtle and calibrated depictions of Livia’s psychological state.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

Mainstream culture’s relatively lower esteem for the Green Lantern is absolutely related to cartoonish interpretations of his power in live-action depictions.

From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026

Posters for the new The Mummy film have been banned from the London Underground and other billboards after regulators said they included realistic depictions of a dead child.

From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026

There were hands, animals, spirals, and depictions of Holy Beings.

From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young

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Related Words

• drawing
• illustration
• image
• likeness
• picture
• portrayal
• representation
• sketch

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