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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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
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Recent Examples of describe
Charter curriculum Charter schools are independent public schools of choice that do not charge tuition, as described by the Minnesota Department of Education.
—
Mars King, Twin Cities, 13 Sep. 2025
He was initially described as being cooperative with police when Ana Walshe went missing but was soon arrested and charged with her murder.
—Flint McColgan, Boston Herald, 13 Sep. 2025
Despite having no food to eat on certain days, Nani nevertheless describes his childhood as a happy one.
—Patrick Snell, CNN Money, 13 Sep. 2025
Jared and Heather Barnhart, from the digital forensics firm Cellebrite, previously described the images in an interview with Fox News Digital.
—Michael Ruiz, FOXNews.com, 10 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for describe
Mars King, Twin Cities, 13 Sep. 2025
He was initially described as being cooperative with police when Ana Walshe went missing but was soon arrested and charged with her murder.
—Flint McColgan, Boston Herald, 13 Sep. 2025
Despite having no food to eat on certain days, Nani nevertheless describes his childhood as a happy one.
—Patrick Snell, CNN Money, 13 Sep. 2025
Jared and Heather Barnhart, from the digital forensics firm Cellebrite, previously described the images in an interview with Fox News Digital.
—Michael Ruiz, FOXNews.com, 10 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for describe
Recent Examples of Synonyms for describe
Verb
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The photo, informally titled The Scourged Back and depicting an escaped slave believed to have been named Peter Gordon, has been in wide circulation since the nineteeth century and is evocative of the horrors and injustice of slavery.—
News Desk,
Artforum,
18 Sep. 2025
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Some of them are from other dimensions, some of them depict earlier, less experienced versions of a character.—
Rob Wieland,
Forbes.com,
17 Sep. 2025
Verb
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An allied assertion is that if AI generates foul code, tell the AI to get its act together and fix the darned stuff.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
18 Sep. 2025
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Carlson asked the state’s environmental agency about the protocol for discontinuing treatment and was told to keep the state posted.—
Anna Clark,
ProPublica,
18 Sep. 2025
Verb
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An increasing number of boys are lonely, isolated and confused, wrestling with the aftermath of the #MeToo movement and the expectations of rigid masculinity, which has been widely characterized as toxic.—
Don Riddell,
CNN Money,
13 Sep. 2025
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Davey characterizes the Longbow strategy as flexible.—
James Morris,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The uniformly white Norman aggressors are portrayed as proto-colonialists.—
Will Collins,
The Washington Examiner,
19 Sep. 2025
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However, his attorney, Christopher Frost, issued a statement via a spokesperson, portraying his client as the unwitting mark of both Mauriss and Robinson—a characterization both of those men would strongly dispute.—
Daniel Libit,
Sportico.com,
18 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Decisions about which exemptions are made—as well as what related direct funding and tax incentives the government deploys—should be tethered to intensive monitoring of exposure to Chinese influence throughout the supply chain.—
Joel Thayer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Sep. 2025
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Once siloed domains with separate toolsets, these areas are now understood to be related.—
Bruce Kelley,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
Verb
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My vision is not only to make products but to create, co-own and empower a portfolio of category-defining beauty wellness successes.—
Fairchild Studio,
Footwear News,
19 Sep. 2025
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Many define empathy differently or fail to define it at all; others fail to use control groups, do not report effect sizes, or contain other errors and omissions that make the studies difficult to compare.—
Rachel Pearson,
Harpers Magazine,
19 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The Texas case clearly illustrates what is at stake.—
Lila Rose,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Sep. 2025
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In areas where water availability is limited, competing demands, such as agriculture or community needs, may be constrained, illustrating how AI’s resource footprint can intersect with broader development challenges.—
Michaela Rychetska,
JSTOR Daily,
18 Sep. 2025
Verb
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These were communications between the suspect’s roommate and a friend after the shooting, where the roommate was recounting the contents of a note the suspect had left elsewhere.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
14 Sep. 2025
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The Gospel of John recounts the testimony of a blind man who was healed by Jesus at the pool.—
Andrea Margolis,
FOXNews.com,
14 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Describe.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/describe. Accessed 21 Sep. 2025.
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