Thesaurus results for DEFINING

defining

verb

present participle of define

as in tracing

to draw or make apparent the outline of the glass skyscraper's sleek silhouette was strikingly defined by the setting sun to its west

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

as in describing

to mark the limits of the river defines the town on the south

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in characterizing

to point out the chief quality or qualities of an individual or group a woman who is defined by her unswerving loyalty to her friends

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in specifying

to give the rules about (something) clearly and exactly let me define the task so that there is no doubt in your minds about what needs to be done

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 defining For customers and investors this might mean a lot more opportunities to build generation-defining companies without facing fundamental limits to scaling. —

Martin Casado, Fortune, 20 May 2026 Saudi Arabia’s beauty sector is undergoing a transformation that is both commercially significant and culturally defining. —

Fmg Studios, Footwear News, 20 May 2026 Kidd’s relationship to the trade, even if tangential, became a defining point in his tenure as the Mavericks’ head coach. —

Mac Engel may 20, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 20 May 2026 Start by defining the real problem, not just the role. —

Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 20 May 2026 The slice in your hand has a city of origin, a specific oven, a defining cheese and usually a stubborn local who will tell you everyone else is doing it wrong. —

Lauren Schuster, Miami Herald, 13 May 2026 Maika Monroe may have starred in multiple defining horror films of the last 10-plus years, from her breakout in It Follows to the recent box-office smash Longlegs, but no amount of scream-queen credits could prepare her for the gory terror of Victorian Psycho. —

David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 13 May 2026 Our ambition is to create a defining work of cinema. —

Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 13 May 2026 The heist was one of the defining events in the art world last year. —

Leigh Anne Miller, ARTnews.com, 13 May 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for defining

Verb

Set across decades at a lakeside property in Brandenburg, the film follows successive inhabitants through the Nazi era, East Germany and reunification, tracing how political systems reshape ordinary lives whether their occupants acknowledge it or not.

— Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 16 May 2026
Archival black-and-white photos tracing the history of sculpture—both works that inspired Brancusi along with those influenced by him—flash on the screen before the music picks back up.

— Leigh Anne Miller, ARTnews.com, 14 May 2026