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
Relevance
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?
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of describe
The first three have to do with the yield curve, which describes the structure of interest rates (yields) in the Treasury market.
—
George Calhoun, Forbes.com, 25 May 2025
Nancy Preis, Opera in the Ozarks general director, will describe the new, state-of-the-art theater built with funds from the Walton Family Foundation at Inspiration Point outside Eureka Springs.
—Deb Harvell, Arkansas Online, 25 May 2025
In what Abdallah described as a series of miracles, nobody was in the clinic last Saturday morning and its in vitro fertilization lab remained intact despite the mighty force of the explosion.
—Hailey Branson-Potts, Los Angeles Times, 24 May 2025
But his budget is more accurately described as a major policy shift—and a very beneficial one.
—Jack Spencer, Boston Herald, 13 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for describe
George Calhoun, Forbes.com, 25 May 2025
Nancy Preis, Opera in the Ozarks general director, will describe the new, state-of-the-art theater built with funds from the Walton Family Foundation at Inspiration Point outside Eureka Springs.
—Deb Harvell, Arkansas Online, 25 May 2025
In what Abdallah described as a series of miracles, nobody was in the clinic last Saturday morning and its in vitro fertilization lab remained intact despite the mighty force of the explosion.
—Hailey Branson-Potts, Los Angeles Times, 24 May 2025
But his budget is more accurately described as a major policy shift—and a very beneficial one.
—Jack Spencer, Boston Herald, 13 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for describe
Recent Examples of Synonyms for describe
Verb
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Visitors are greeted with a diorama depicting children and dinosaurs interacting peacefully in the Garden of Eden.—
Peter Smith,
Los Angeles Times,
25 May 2025
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Banners depicting hometown heroes adorn the streets of Westminster in time for Memorial Day, honoring those who served in the U.S. military, including some who gave their lives.—
Thomas Goodwin Smith,
Baltimore Sun,
25 May 2025
Verb
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In 2024, a highly intoxicated passenger on an All Nippon Airways flight from Tokyo to Seattle reportedly bit a flight attendant in the arm an hour after takeoff, the Japanese airline told The Japan Times.—
Kathleen Wong,
USA Today,
27 May 2025
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More than 300 miscarriages had been attributed to a lack of nutrients, the ministry told CNN on Sunday.—
Jeremy Diamond,
CNN Money,
26 May 2025
Verb
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The outline of the initial report — a contract extension for Crow-Armstrong potentially worth around $75 million — has been characterized as inaccurate.—
Patrick Mooney,
New York Times,
28 May 2025
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Scott, a former two-term governor of the Sunshine State and no stranger to working with the agency while battling major hurricanes, characterized FEMA as rife with fraud that does little more than write checks for post-disaster cleanup.—
Hailey Bullis,
The Washington Examiner,
26 May 2025
Verb
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Why is she being portrayed as silly and incompetent?—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
19 May 2025
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For voice actors who previously portrayed Darth Vader in video games, the Fortnite feature starkly illustrates how AI voice synthesis could reshape their profession.—
Ashley Belanger – May 19,
ArsTechnica,
19 May 2025
Verb
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Investigators suspected the two killings were related but ran out of leads and the cases went cold.—
Marc Ramirez,
USA Today,
13 May 2025
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Jennifer Ouellette Senior Writer Jennifer is a senior writer at Ars Technica with a particular focus on where science meets culture, covering everything from physics and related interdisciplinary topics to her favorite films and TV series.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
30 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Sentenced as a young adult to 60 years behind bars, Maurice’s story could have ended there, defined forever by one devastating moment.—
Elizabeth Hinton,
Hartford Courant,
20 May 2025
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The city is also the cradle of Puerto Rican salsa, the birthplace of the late ‘60s and ‘70s Latin music revolution defined by legends such as the Fania All Stars.—
Isabela Raygoza,
Billboard,
20 May 2025
Verb
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Els took a South African passport from his jacket pocket to illustrate his pride in his country.—
Joey Garrison,
USA Today,
22 May 2025
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The capacity to misdirect, in Biden’s case, or mislead, as happened under Trump, illustrates one of the magical features of the White House: the ability of a president to conceal himself in plain sight.—
Mark Z. Barabak,
Los Angeles Times,
21 May 2025
Verb
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Climate journalist Alec Luhn recounts his visit to an Inuit village in northern Canada where scientists are testing out the ice-thickening technique.—
Jeanna Bryner,
Scientific American,
20 May 2025
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Both survived and Vacher’s face was permanently disfigured, Starr recounts in his book, which is based on an exhaustive review of historical documents, interviews, and research.—
Sean Neumann,
People.com,
18 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Describe.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/describe. Accessed 3 Jun. 2025.
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