describe

[ dih-skrahyb ]

See synonyms for: describe described describes describing on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),de·scribed, de·scrib·ing.

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

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English describen, from Latin dēscrībere, equivalent to dē- de- + scrībere “to write”

synonym study For describe

1. Describe, narrate agree in the idea of giving an account of something. To describe is to convey in words the appearance, nature, attributes, etc., of something. The word often implies vividness of personal observation: to describe a scene, an event. To narrate is to recount the occurrence of something, usually by giving the details of an event or events in the order of their happening. Narrate thus applies only to that which happens over time: to narrate an incident.

Other words for describe

1	portray, characterize, represent; recount, tell, relate

See synonyms for describe on Thesaurus.com

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. 2023

How to use describe in a sentence

He also described reading widely to buttress his leadership skills—mostly biographies of figures like Steve Jobs, Albert Einstein and Howard Hughes, but also science treatises like Steven Wolfram’s A Project to Find the Fundament Theories of Physics.
Robinhood co-founder steps down as co-CEO, leaving Vlad Tenev as sole chief ahead of a rumored IPO | Jeff | November 20, 2020 | Fortune
Thoughtful, personal communication has also been key, said Mark Hoplamazian, CEO of Hyatt Hotels, who describes the year for the company and the travel industry as “extraordinarily painful.”
Why remote work may be hardest on junior employees | Erika Fry | November 20, 2020 | Fortune
That’s the word Superintendent Cindy Marten chose to describe the state of the district during her annual speech this week.
Morning Report: Turning Border Sewage Into Local Water | Voice of San Diego | November 20, 2020 | Voice of San Diego
“Unstoppable” is not exactly the adjective that Delphine Duckett, a grandmother of six, would have chosen to describe the district’s operations.
The Learning Curve: Even With Schools Closed, State of District ‘Unstoppable’ | Will Huntsberry | November 19, 2020 | Voice of San Diego
In order to properly classify mosaics, Domokos started describing them with two numbers.
Scientists Uncover the Universal Geometry of Geology | Joshua Sokol | November 19, 2020 | Quanta Magazine

They are fathers, describing to the rest of us what I thought was a widely acknowledged reality.
The NY Police Union’s Vile War with Mayor De Blasio | Michael Tomasky | December 21, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
As a writer, I tried mainly to stick close to the concrete particulars of the events and the performances I was describing.
How Richard Pryor Beat Bill Cosby and Transformed America | David Yaffe, Scott Saul | December 10, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
At times, it reads as if he is describing the backdrop of a Hieronymus Bosch painting.
The Fiery Underground Oil Pit Eating L.A. | Geoff Manaugh | December 6, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Describing by biographers as an avid writer of letters, little of his correspondence appears available to public view.
The True Story of ‘The Elephant Man’ | Russell Saunders | November 3, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
They would speak up, but in tones still soft and placid; and Spahn often overheard them describing him as a “beautiful person.”
Gay Talese on Charlie Manson’s Home on the Range | Gay Talese | October 31, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Whether we take this phrase as describing the object or result of founding that college, it is a case of Concurrence.
Assimilative Memory | Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)
It is used in describing the operation of cutting in twain the animal sacrificed at the ratification of a covenant.
The Ordinance of Covenanting | John Cunningham
As land is increasing everywhere in value more pains is taken in describing it, than formerly.
Putnam's Handy Law Book for the Layman | Albert Sidney Bolles
Mere clerical errors or mistakes in describing it may be corrected even after it has been destroyed.
Putnam's Handy Law Book for the Layman | Albert Sidney Bolles
One little part he dexterously omitted, describing the cause of death—disease of the heart.
Elster's Folly | Mrs. Henry Wood

British Dictionary definitions for describe

describe

/ (dɪˈskraɪb) /

verb(tr)

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

C15: from Latin dēscrībere to copy off, write out, delineate, from de- + scrībere to write

Derived 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

Browse