detailed
Americanadjective
-
having many details.
a detailed problem.
- Synonyms:
- complicated, complex, involved
-
thorough in the treatment of details; minute.
a detailed report.
- Synonyms:
- comprehensive, thorough, exhaustive
adjective
Other Word Forms
- detailedly adverb
- detailedness noun
- nondetailed adjective
- overdetailed adjective
- undetailed adjective
Etymology
Origin of detailed
Explanation
Use the adjective detailed when you're talking about something that's full of specific points or facts. A detailed weather report includes temperature, cloud cover, and the possibility of rain. Something that's detailed is focused on the fine points or small aspects — a detailed portrait of your grandmother includes every wisp of hair and subtle shade of skin. Detailed explanations take some time, because the person doing the explaining isn't leaving any detail out. The literal Old French meaning of the noun detail is "a cutting in pieces," and it's used to mean "small piece or quantity."
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.
He performs songs such as the previously detailed “Death Row,” taking brief intervals to tell stories of his experiences while incarcerated.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 30, 2026
“We’ll handle the detailed process so you can focus on what’s important. Leave the headache and sea of confusing paperwork to us!” says the website for one such company, called Alumni Counseling Service.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 30, 2026
Although scientists have long understood the basics of this process, studying its detailed structure at the nanometer scale inside intact human cells has remained challenging.
From Science Daily • Apr. 30, 2026
Ahead of their repatriation to Kenya, Prague Zoo said each animal would undergo "acclimatisation and detailed monitoring before being gradually integrated" at the MKWC's breeding programme.
From BBC • Apr. 29, 2026
In 1958, Dr. Derek J. de Solla Price, a physicist and highly respected science historian, made the first truly detailed study of the object.
From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler
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.
