describe

verb

di-ˈskrīb How to pronounce describe (audio)
Definition of describenext
1
as in to depict
to give a representation or account of in words he tried to describe the dream he had last night as accurately as he could

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to tell
to give an oral or written account of in some detail a biography of Washington that describes the decisive Battle of Yorktown at great length

Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in to characterize
to point out the chief quality or qualities of an individual or group how would you describe the Inupiat people you encountered in Alaska?

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of describe Lauren Fulcher, director at Tache, described Minor Attractions as a good introduction to the art market. — Hikmat Mohammed, ARTnews.com, 15 Oct. 2026 McDonnell is described as standing 5-foot-7 and weighing approximately 145 pounds. — Dean Fioresi, CBS News, 15 Oct. 2026 The police described her as drunk and incapacitated, according to the records. — New York Times, 15 Oct. 2026 Other executives describe him as pragmatic, meticulous, and unifying. — Andrew R. Chow, Time, 15 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for describe
Recent Examples of Synonyms for describe
  1. depict
  2. tell
  3. characterize
  4. portray
  5. relate
  6. define
  7. illustrate
  8. recount
Verb
  • Specifically, the king created a watercolor depicting Birkhall, the British royal family’s private country residence in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, on the Balmoral estate, which was reproduced on some of the pieces in the capsule collection.
    — Laura Scafati, Vanity Fair, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Much of the film contrasts light and dark, yet the scene depicting Robert Ford’s murder takes place in a bar housed in a tent, surrounded by snow, its interior swathed in flat, even light.
    — Callum McLennan, Variety, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of depict
Verb
  • Some economists, including researchers at the Minneapolis Fed, argue the data don’t tell such a clean story.
    — Molly A. Wallace, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2026
  • The company agrees with skeptics like the NFL that justices must eventually opine on whether states and tribes should regulate its sports event contracts as sports bets, a Supreme Court litigator working with Kalshi told Semafor.
    — Eleanor Mueller, semafor.com, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of tell
Verb
  • Adam Hamilton Hamilton, the Democratic nominee, has characterized the war as a major foreign policy blunder.
    — Matthew Kelly, Kansas City Star, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Shigella bacteria cause shigellosis, an illness characterized by severe diarrhea, that is sometimes bloody or prolonged, and fever.
    — Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of characterize
Verb
  • Rogers has increasingly portrayed El-Sayed as an extremist and a threat to Jewish voters as the Republican tries to win over a traditionally Democratic constituency.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Landon starred as the Ingalls family patriarch, Charles, Karen Grassle played his wife, Caroline, and Gilbert portrayed their daughter, Laura.
    — Janelle Ash, FOXNews.com, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of portray
Verb
  • His interview with O’Donnell relates his story—a faulty parachute, a tough crash, a long bloody hike, and survival until he was rescued by an American plane—in a genuinely moving way.
    — Vinson Cunningham, New Yorker, 18 Oct. 2026
  • The high amount of overtime at the mental health department is related mainly to nurses working at the state’s mental health hospitals, Whiting and Connecticut Valley Hospital, which are both in Middletown.
    — Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of relate
Verb
  • Get timely insight into the cases, rulings, and constitutional questions defining America’s legal landscape.
    — Washington Examiner, The Washington Examiner, 17 Oct. 2026
  • The postwar model of a large welfare and regulatory state, run by a class of civil servants charged with modernizing the economy, tempering market forces and defining the common good, has run its course.
    — Nicholas Bequelin, Time, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of define
Verb
  • Its flight heritage illustrates the importance of dependable computing hardware in missions where repairs are difficult or impossible.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 15 Oct. 2026
  • The incident illustrates the failures of trust and safety provisions that are supposed to protect against this kind of confusion.
    — Mia Sato, The Verge, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of illustrate
Verb
  • On Tuesday night’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live, Kimmel recounted Zacharia’s disastrous first day of work.
    — Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Without recounting every amusing or harrowing detail, a good deal of interactive psychological grilling ensued.
    — Chris Willman, Variety, 11 Oct. 2026
Definition of recount

Browse Nearby Words

descrambling
describe
described
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Cite this Entry

“Describe.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/describe. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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