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.
The vote followed a weekslong debate, detailed recently by The Wall Street Journal, that included allegations of campaign signs being stolen from yards in the town of roughly 18,000 residents.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026
Under the ethics agreement detailed in the Ethics in Government Act, those arrangements would end and all outstanding fees would be fixed before he joins the Fed.
From Barron's • Apr. 14, 2026
Mitchell did not respond to detailed questions from ProPublica.
From Salon • Apr. 14, 2026
She notes that no detailed breakdown of the numbers has been provided by the government or NHS England.
From BBC • Apr. 13, 2026
Perhaps as a result, her last report to Donovan detailed exactly what that work had involved, as well as the long night and weekend hours her team had put in.
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
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.
