describe

describe

verb

Definition of DESCRIBE

1

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 delineate, depict, draw, image, limn, paint, picture, portray, render, set out, sketch

Related Words characterize, define, label, qualify, represent; demonstrate, illustrate; narrate, recite, recount, rehearse, relate, report, tell; display, exhibit, show; hint, suggest; draft, outline, silhouette, trace, vignette; summarize, sum up, touch off; redescribe, reimage

Near Antonyms color, distort, falsify, garble, misdescribe, misrepresent, misstate, pervert, twist, warp

2

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 chart, chronicle, describe, narrate, recite, recount, rehearse, relate, report

Related Words deliver, give, reel off, state, utter, voice; detail, enumerate, itemize, particularize; bare, disclose, divulge, expose, let on (about), reveal; delineate, depict, express, render, sketch

3

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 character, define, depict, describe, portray, represent

Related Words categorize, classify, pigeonhole, type; color, identify, indicate, name, specify; distinguish, individualize, mark, particularize, stamp