describe

[dih-skrahyb]

verb (used with object), de·scribed, de·scrib·ing.

to tell or depict in written or spoken words; give an account of: He described the accident very carefully.
to pronounce, as by a designating term, phrase, or the like; label: There are few people who may be described as geniuses.
to indicate; be a sign of; denote: Conceit, in many cases, describes a state of serious emotional insecurity.

to represent or delineate by a picture or figure.
Geometry. to draw or trace the outline of: to describe an arc.

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 for describe

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 of well-described

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.
Essay on the Creative Imagination
Th. Ribot
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)

(of a scene, picture, incident, etc) having been skillfully represented or expressed in words

describe

verb (tr)

to give an account or representation of in words
to pronounce or labelhe has been described as a genius
to draw a line or figure, such as a circle

Derived Formsdescribable, adjectivedescriber, noun

Word Origin for describe

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

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.