descry
Americanverb
-
to discern or make out; catch sight of
-
to discover by looking carefully; detect
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have descriedperfect
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has descriedperfect 3rd person singular
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am descryingprogressive 1st person singular
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has been descryingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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is descryingprogressive 3rd person singular
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are descryingprogressive
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descryingparticiple
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descriessingular 3rd person
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have been descryingperfect progressive
Past
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had descriedperfect
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were descryingprogressive plural
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had been descryingperfect progressive
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was descryingprogressive singular
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descriedparticiple
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descriedsimple
Future
Etymology
Origin of descry
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English descrien, from Old French de(s)crïer “to proclaim, decry”; see dis- 1, cry
Explanation
If you spot something, you descry it. When you spy it, you descry it. It's a good verb to use when you catch a glimpse of a rare bird in the trees. Or when you finally spot Waldo in a Where's Waldo? book. Descry is very similar to "see" or "discern," but involves more than just keeping your eyes open. Usually you descry something after observing carefully for a while. Wrote Ovid, the Ancient Roman poet and author: “Time on time revolving we descry, so moments flit, so moments fly.” Apparently, even in antiquity people complained about seeing the time go by too quickly.
Vocabulary lists containing descry
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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.
