DELINEATE Synonyms: 72 Similar and Opposite Words

delineate

verb

di-ˈli-nē-ˌāt

Definition of delineate

as in to trace

to draw or make apparent the outline of the man's roly-poly shape was softly delineated by the glow of the fire

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

as in to describe

to give a representation or account of in words the story does a remarkable job of delineating the emotions that immigrants feel upon their arrival in a strange country

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 delineate While prosecution witnesses have refused to delineate between the Lachman and Palisades blazes, Haney has repeatedly described them as two distinct incidents that ignited days apart. — Brittny Mejia, Los Angeles Times, 24 June 2026 Some of them act as half walls, delineating the foyer, or partially separating the family room from the main salon. — Paola Singer, Architectural Digest, 18 June 2026 City centers across Europe and Asia were anchored for centuries by ancient seats of royalty and religion, and delineated by walls. — Luis Melecio-Zambrano, Mercury News, 10 June 2026 So, during today's press conference, Ars Technica's Eric Berger asked García-Galán and NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, who also participated in the event, if the MoonFall drones could help delineate a keep-out zone of sorts. — Mike Wall, Space.com, 26 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for delineate

Recent Examples of Synonyms for delineate

Verb

The next year, health authorities linked a cyclospora outbreak in part to Taylor Farms, tracing it back to the same central Mexico facility implicated in this year’s outbreak.

— Yahya Abou-Ghazala, CNN Money, 6 Aug. 2026
Although the movie eventually loses steam (a side effect of its subversions of the genre, while using Ilyas’s awkward outsidership as an aesthetic North Star), Khan traces the care with which his characters try to chart invisible social lines.

— Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 5 Aug. 2026

Definition of trace

Verb

Witness accounts describe chaotic scene In the video, as many as five officers can be seen, and shrieks, screams, and cries are heard.

— Marvin Hurst, CBS News, 7 Aug. 2026
One student has described the moment a fellow pupil ran into their classroom and informed them that a teacher had been shot, during Friday’s deadly shooting.

— Billy Stockwell, CNN Money, 7 Aug. 2026

Definition of describe

Verb

Write down the facts, define the next step, and keep the agreement practical.

— Tarot.com, Sun Sentinel, 8 Aug. 2026
The trigger is a loss-of-control scenario, which the bill defines as a system taking actions its developer did not intend, at a scale that risks catastrophic harm.

— Jason Snyder, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2026

Definition of define

Verb

Researchers scanned dogs’ brains while the pooches looked at images of human facial expressions depicting happiness, sadness, anger and fear.

— Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 10 Aug. 2026
The work, depicting a judge in a wig striking a protester with a gavel, has cost Britain’s Ministry of Justice $67,000 in removal efforts so far, with another $48,000 spent on security and staff overtime while the work stayed up.

— Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 10 Aug. 2026

Definition of depict

Verb

Ludwig outlined his methodology for configuring the 176 Election Day sites, which was done in a way that ensured there were 44 polling places in each commissioner precinct.

— Rachel Royster, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5 Aug. 2026
That's due to a new requirement for digital asset brokers to issue a tax form — Form 1099-DA, Digital Asset Proceeds From Broker Transactions — to investors that outlines gross proceeds from various transactions.

— Greg Iacurci, CNBC, 5 Aug. 2026

Definition of outline

Verb

Hundreds of pages of grand jury transcripts portray Tupac Shakur's shooting as a culmination of a longstanding feud between rival record labels Death Row Records and Bad Boy Records and rival gang sects Mob Piru and South Side Compton Crips.

— CBS News, CBS News, 10 Aug. 2026
Juno Temple portrays supermodel and eventual public relations expert Keeley Jones.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 10 Aug. 2026

Definition of portray

Browse Nearby Words

delimits

delineate

delineated

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Delineate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/delineate. Accessed 12 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of delineate

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster on delineate

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

gnomic

Popular in Grammar & Usage

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

'Gaslighting,' 'Woke,' 'Democracy,' and Other Top Lookups

Popular

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

Games & Quizzes