designate
Americanverb (used with object)
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designates,
present (3rd person singular)
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designated,
past participle, past
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designating
present participle
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to mark or point out; indicate; show; specify.
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to denote; indicate; signify.
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to name; entitle; style.
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to nominate or select for a duty, office, purpose, etc.; appoint; assign.
adjective
verb
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to indicate or specify
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to give a name to; style; entitle
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to select or name for an office or duty; appoint
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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designatornoun
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dedesignateverb (used with object)
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redesignateverb (used with object)
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designativeadjective
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designatoryadjective
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nondesignateadjective
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nondesignativeadjective
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undesignatedadjective
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undesignativeadjective
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well-designatedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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designatesimple
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designatessimple
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have designatedperfect
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has designatedperfect
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am designatingprogressive
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are designatingprogressive
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is designatingprogressive
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have been designatingperfect progressive
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has been designatingperfect progressive
Past
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designatedsimple
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had designatedperfect
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was designatingprogressive
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were designatingprogressive
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had been designatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of designate
1640–50; < Latin dēsignātus, past participle of dēsignāre. See design, -ate 1
Explanation
To designate is to give something a specific status. If you designate your house an opera-free zone, it means that you've officially declared that no opera is allowed to be played there. To give a person or thing an official status is to designate it as something, like when you designate a meeting place if members of your group get lost at the amusement park. Sometimes, it can carry responsibility or an assignment, like when your teammates designate you as the captain. It can also show a category, like when you designate certain books to the humor section of the bookstore where you work.
Vocabulary lists containing designate
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Raman co-presented the motion to designate Vega Square, along with Councilmember Rodriguez, according to documents filed in March.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2026
Wristbands designate how much parents love their children: enough for the all-access pass or just enough for access to the scruffy llama at the pop-up petting zoo?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026
She said if Stormont is serious about Bengoa's report and improving the health care system they "must enshrine this absolute right in law" for patients to designate an essential family carer.
From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026
The agency did not designate Graham, Clyburn and Wilson that way, but the agents were actively investigating their interactions with Kao.
From Salon ● Oct. 20, 2026
He couldn’t see it, of course, though later he said he had felt it come forward, had perceived it with the kind of knowledge that had made the people designate Seer as his true name.
From "Messenger" by Lois Lowry
The case stemmed from a broader legal dispute over the renaming of the cultural institution, which US law designates as a memorial to President John F Kennedy.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
The U.S. rightly designates GPS as critical infrastructure, but the reference frame that gives every GPS signal its meaning enjoys no such protection.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
Known as the Record of Emergency Data, this form designates that beneficiaries get $100,000 tax-free cash and any unreceived payments after a servicemember dies.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
As a terrorism scholar who spent a decade running the State Department office that designates terrorist organizations, I understand their confusion.
From Salon ● Jul. 23, 2026
To initiate spatial teleportation, the traveler enters the STM with the EGG and designates their chosen timeprint.
From "The First State of Being" by Erin Entrada Kelly
The completed mission, designated U.S. spacewalk 100, marked Menon's fourth spacewalk and Kutryk's first.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 30, 2026
The estate has a number of important wildlife habitats, conservationists say, with some already designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
Seoul's education ministry's new measures to prevent cheating using smart glasses, announced Thursday, included assigning a "designated staff member" at each examination centre to identify suspicious eyewear.
From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026
Two designated parking spaces are included in the building’s secured, residents-only garage.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2026
But when Paul returned at the designated time, Carrie Chapman Catt was leaving Colby’s office with a photographer.
From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling
A panel of judges, following the law, refused to allow Habba to serve in an interim capacity, forcing Trump to withdraw her name from consideration for the job, designating her acting U.S. attorney instead.
From Salon ● Oct. 22, 2026
These are mostly the same issues that sank previous rounds, including a cap on plastic production, mention of human health, and designating problematic plastic products or chemicals of concern.
From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026
Deukmejian vetoed the bill, though Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation in 2024 designating the slimy yellow creature as the official state slug.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
Its actions Tuesday included designating a Turkish company it said helped Mahan ship goods including drone components to Iran.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
On August 11, 1919, the AFL granted a charter to the Boston Social Club, designating it as Boston Police Union No. 16,807.
From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
