descry

[dih-skrahy]

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verb (used with object), de·scried, de·scry·ing.

to see (something unclear or distant) by looking carefully; discern; espy: The lookout descried land.

to discover; perceive; detect.

Nearby words

Origin of descry

1250–1300; Middle English descrien < Old French de(s)crïer to proclaim, decry. See dis-¹, cry

SYNONYMS FOR descry

1. notice.

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Related formsde·scri·er, nounun·de·scried, adjectiveun·de·scry·ing, adjective

Can be confuseddecry descry (see synonym study at decry)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for descry

Search it as they pleased, not even the practisect eye of Captain Davis could descry the smallest interruption.
The Ebb-Tide|Robert Louis Stevenson and Lloyde Osbourne
From this part of the coast we could descry the islands off Cape Liant on the opposite side of the gulf.
The Mission to Siam, and Hu the Capital of Cochin China, in the Years 1821-2|George Finlayson
Nowhere could I descry even a small collection of books of the sort which may furnish material for conversation.
A Court of Inquiry|Grace S. Richmond
Round them the wanderer will descry a miserable field or two, planted with a stunted crop of rye, millet, or maize.
Claret and Olives, from the Garonne to the Rhone|Angus B. Reach

On clear moonlight evenings she could descry a little strip of the fiord between two high houses.
Tales of Two Countries|Alexander Kielland

British Dictionary definitions for descry

descry

verb -scries, -scrying or -scried (tr)

to discern or make out; catch sight of

to discover by looking carefully; detect

Derived Formsdescrier, noun

Word Origin for descry

C14: from Old French descrier to proclaim, decry

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

Word Origin and History for descry

descry

v.1

"to see, discern," c.1300, probably from Old French descrier "publish" (Modern French décrier), from Latin describere (see describe).

descry

v.2

"to proclaim," mid-14c., from Old French descrier, from des- (see dis-) + crier, from Latin quiritare (see cry (v.)).

descry

verb (used with object), de·scried, de·scry·ing.

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of descry

Examples from the Web for descry

descry

verb -scries, -scrying or -scried (tr)

Word Origin for descry

descry

descry