Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

describe

[dih-skrahyb]
verb (used with object), de·scribed, de·scrib·ing.
  1. to tell or depict in written or spoken words; give an account of: He described the accident very carefully.
  2. to pronounce, as by a designating term, phrase, or the like; label: There are few people who may be described as geniuses.
  3. to indicate; be a sign of; denote: Conceit, in many cases, describes a state of serious emotional insecurity.
  4. to represent or delineate by a picture or figure.
  5. Geometry. to draw or trace the outline of: to describe an arc.
Show More

Origin of describe

1400–50; late Middle English describen < Latin dēscrībere, equivalent to dē- de- + scrībere to write
Related formsde·scrib·a·ble, adjectivede·scrib·a·bil·i·ty, nounde·scrib·a·bly, adverbde·scrib·er, nounnon·de·scrib·a·ble, adjectiveo·ver·de·scribe, verb (used with object), o·ver·de·scribed, o·ver·de·scrib·ing.pre·de·scribe, verb (used with object), pre·de·scribed, pre·de·scrib·ing.re·de·scribe, verb (used with object), re·de·scribed, re·de·scrib·ing.self-de·scribed, adjectiveun·de·scrib·a·ble, adjectiveun·de·scrib·a·ble·ness, nounun·de·scrib·a·bly, adverbun·de·scribed, adjectivewell-de·scribed, adjective

Synonyms

1. portray, characterize, represent; recount, tell, relate.

Synonym study

1. Describe, narrate agree in the idea of giving an account of something. To describe is to convey in words the appearance, nature, attributes, etc., of something. The word often implies vividness of personal observation: to describe a scene, an event. To narrate is to recount the occurrence of something, usually by giving the details of an event or events in the order of their happening. Narrate thus applies only to that which happens over time: to narrate an incident.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for well-described

Historical Examples

  • The story is capitally told, it abounds in graphic and well-described scenes, and it has an excellent and manly tone throughout.

    The Dash for Khartoum

    George Alfred Henty

  • This condition has been well-described by various novelists, among them Zola, in Money.

  • It was merely the task of locating a well-described stranger in a comparatively small city.

    Uncle Sam Detective

    William Atherton Du Puy

British Dictionary definitions for well-described

well-described

adjective (well described when postpositive)
  1. (of a scene, picture, incident, etc) having been skillfully represented or expressed in words
Show More

describe

verb (tr)
  1. to give an account or representation of in words
  2. to pronounce or labelhe has been described as a genius
  3. to draw a line or figure, such as a circle
Show More
Derived Formsdescribable, adjectivedescriber, noun

Word Origin

C15: from Latin dēscrībere to copy off, write out, delineate, from de- + scrībere to write
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for well-described

describe

v.

early 13c., descriven, from Old French descrivre, descrire (13c.), from Latin describere "to write down, copy; sketch, represent" (see description). Reconstructed with Latin spelling 16c. Related: Describable; described, describes, describing.

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper