Word of the Day

: March 7, 2024

descry

verb dih-SKRYE

What It Means

Descry is a literary word that, like discover or find out, means “to come to realize or understand something.” Descry can also mean “to catch sight of.”

// In their research, the bryologists descried an association between a moss and the iron content of the rock it typically grows on.

// From the tops of the high dunes, we could just descry the ship coming over the horizon.

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descry in Context

“Where does one begin to learn about Dundee’s history and heart? Luckily, for a tourist, there is a place. It’s called Verdant Works, a former jute mill in a part of the city known as Blackness. (Dickens couldn’t have come up with a better name.) Once the employer of 500 people, the mill is a keyhole through which most of Dundee’s history can be descried. Unlike many factory museums, its story is made vivid by docents only one or two generations removed from its inescapable clutches.” — David Brown, The Washington Post, 30 Sept. 2022

Did You Know?

If you’ve ever mixed up the words descry and decry, you’re not alone; even carefully edited publications occasionally mistake the former (“to catch sight of” or “to discover”) for the latter (“to express strong disapproval of”), as in “the watchdog group’s report descried (oops: decried) environmental pollution by manufacturers in the harshest terms.” As always, we’re here to help you descry handy ways to tell confusing words apart. In the case of descry and decry, pronunciation is key—the s in descry is not silent. Descry sounds just like the English verb describe without its closing b, and the two share a Latin root as well, the verb dēscrībere, meaning “to represent by drawing or speech.” When you descry something, it becomes known to you either by discovery or understanding, as though it were well-described. Decry, on the other hand, emphasizes cry when spoken, and shares roots with cry as well: when you decry something, you might be said to cry loudly your complaint.