depicted
Americanadjective
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represented by or as if by painting or other visual image; portrayed.
The viewer of this striking painting is lured into the possible narrative of the depicted figure by her beauty, strength, and grace.
-
represented or characterized in words.
Subtle cues in the text indicate the tone or stance the author is taking towards the depicted events.
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of depicted
Explanation
If your brother is depicted as a couch potato in your autobiographical novel, it means that you described him in a certain way, so that he came across as a lazy TV watcher. The adjective depicted means "shown or represented." A person or thing can be depicted in a particular way through a description, a drawing, a photograph, or any other artistic medium. Whenever a vivid picture of something — like life in Victorian England — is presented, that thing is being depicted. The Latin root depictus comes from the prefix de, meaning "down," and pingere, "to paint," and it means "to portray, paint, sketch or imagine."
Vocabulary lists containing depicted
Unit 4: Powerful Openings
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Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
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The Last Beekeeper
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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.
Human evolution is often depicted as a relatively simple sequence of distinct species, beginning with ape-like ancestors, continuing through Australopithecus and early members of Homo, and eventually leading to Homo Sapiens living today.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 20, 2026
They also depicted him as a scapegoat whose prosecution was being used to cover up the Los Angeles Fire Department's failure to extinguish the initial fire.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
The film depicted a sailor who was below deck, tasked with watching machines in an enclosed, lonely room while the war against the enemy raged outside.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
Both had an underlying conservation message but drew viewers in with the colorful and chaotic worlds they depicted.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
In her pocket the wrapped Stately Homes of England suddenly felt as if it weighed as much as the houses it depicted, but in her pocket it would have to remain.
From "The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: Book I: The Mysterious Howling" by Maryrose Wood
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.
