describe
to tell or depict in written or spoken words; give an account of: He described the accident very carefully.
to pronounce, as by a designating term, phrase, or the like; label: There are few people who may be described as geniuses.
to indicate; be a sign of; denote: Conceit, in many cases, describes a state of serious emotional insecurity.
to represent or delineate by a picture or figure.
Geometry. to draw or trace the outline of: to describe an arc.
Origin of describe
1synonym study For describe
Other words for describe
Other words from describe
- 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), o·ver·de·scribed, o·ver·de·scrib·ing.
- pre·de·scribe, verb (used with object), pre·de·scribed, pre·de·scrib·ing.
- re·de·scribe, verb (used with object), re·de·scribed, re·de·scrib·ing.
- 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
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use describe in a sentence
In 1998, she co-wrote a law review article, titled “Catholic Judges in Capital Cases,” that described the tensions.
Supreme Court continues capital punishment trend with Barrett on the bench | Robert Barnes | November 20, 2020 | Washington PostShe described the recent wave of mergers as “marriages of weakness,” not strength.
Ezra Klein leaves Vox, the website he founded, for New York Times, in a digital media A-list exodus | Paul Farhi, Sarah Ellison | November 20, 2020 | Washington PostAs we described it back in 2017, “The company’s app lets people find out who, nearby, is already heading out to a restaurant that they like, then tack on an order of their own.”
Walmart is buying JoyRun assets to add ‘peer-to-peer’ product delivery | Brian Heater | November 20, 2020 | TechCrunchIn climate science, vulnerability generally describes the likelihood that a country will experience negative impacts from storms and other extreme weather events.
Natural disasters are increasing. The world’s poorest are left to fend for themselves. | Jariel Arvin | November 20, 2020 | VoxA high school teacher in Arlington gave students a question that asked them to insert the name of a chemical element to fill out a sentence describing how George Floyd died beneath the knee of a Minneapolis police officer in May.
Virginia chemistry teacher asked students to insert ‘neon . . . neck’ to describe how George Floyd died | Hannah Natanson | November 19, 2020 | Washington Post
Her style, much like her diminutive nickname, is best described as “Hamptons twee”—preppy and peppy.
How Taryn Toomey’s ‘The Class’ Became New York’s Latest Fitness Craze | Lizzie Crocker | January 9, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTIt was seen by a small delegation of star-struck prelates and dignitaries who later described the film as “moving.”
Pope Francis Has the Pleasure of Meeting Angelina Jolie for a Few Seconds | Barbie Latza Nadeau | January 8, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTThe “doctorate” Duke claims is from an anti-Semitic Ukranian “diploma mill” as described by the State Department.
Spencer, 27, is variously described as a writer and a stand-up comic.
Meet Stephen Fry’s Future Husband (Who Is Less Than Half His Age) | Tom Sykes | January 6, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTThe training, at least as described by the U.S. military, is incredibly basic.
Pentagon Insider on New Plan to Fight ISIS: ‘Of Course It’s Not Enough’ | Nancy A. Youssef | January 6, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTYou see, I'd always thought of him as the boy whom Great-aunt Lucia described having seen.
The Boarded-Up House | Augusta Huiell SeamanIn this position, the line of cavalry formed the chord of the arc described by the river, and occupied by us.
What they would have said to the £150,000 spent on the present building can be better imagined than described.
Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham | Thomas T. Harman and Walter ShowellBy what word is the relation between “pendulum” and “a smile and tear” described?
Assimilative Memory | Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)They told us of their visit to the Great Eastern, what a gigantic ship it was, what a marvel, and described its every feature.
Fifty Years of Railway Life in England, Scotland and Ireland | Joseph Tatlow
British Dictionary definitions for describe
/ (dɪˈskraɪb) /
to give an account or representation of in words
to pronounce or label: he has been described as a genius
to draw a line or figure, such as a circle
Origin of describe
1Derived forms of describe
- describable, adjective
- describer, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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