delineate

verb de·lin·eate \ di-ˈli-nē-ˌāt , dē- \

|Updated on: 15 Aug 2018

Examples: delineate in a Sentence

Definition of delineate

delineated; delineating

transitive verb

1 : to describe, portray, or set forth with accuracy or in detail

delineate a character in the story

delineate the steps to be taken by the government

2 a : to indicate or represent by drawn or painted lines

b : to mark the outline of

lights delineating the narrow streets

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delineator

play \di-ˈli-nē-ˌā-tər, dē-\ noun

See delineate defined for English-language learners

See delineate defined for kids

Examples of delineate in a Sentence

He plants his skates millimeters outside the blue-tinted 44-square-foot arena that delineates the crease and refuses to budge … —Michael Farber, Sports Illustrated, 21 May 2007
Screenwriter Christopher Hampton introduces a large gallery of characters, subtly delineating the unspoken class biases that will keep Robbie, for all his confidence, charm and Cambridge education, an outsider. —David Ansen, Newsweek, 10 Dec. 2007
So Madrid finally ordered Onís to cut the best deal he could. The resulting Transcontinental (or Adams-Onís) Treaty of 1819 ceded Florida to the United States and delineated the boundary between American and Spanish territory all the way to the Pacific Ocean … —Walter A. McDougall, Promised Land, Crusader State, 1997
Privacy plays a unique role in American law. Although considered a core value by most citizens, it is not explicitly delineated as a protected right by the U.S. Constitution. —Edward A. Cavazos et al., Cyberspace and the Law, 1994
The report clearly delineates the steps that must be taken.
The characters in the story were carefully delineated.

Recent Examples of delineate from the Web

The Virginia law became the foundation of the religious freedom protections later delineated in the Constitution.

— elahe izadi, Washington Post, "Thomas Jefferson and the long history of defending Muslim rights," 26 June 2018
The decision to favor six conferences over the other five had clearly delineated college football’s castes.

— andy staples, SI.com, "The Chaos and Consequences of the BCS, 20 Years After Its Inaugural Season," 9 July 2018
Dozens of experts are needed to write the hundreds of pages needed to describe North Korea’s nuclear and missile infrastructure and then delineate how it will be curtailed, dismantled and inspected.

— New York Times, "North Korea Criticizes ‘Gangster-Like’ U.S. Attitude After Talks With Mike Pompeo," 7 July 2018
Minimal lines of pencil delineate the ground, a flower and a red-and-white fishing bobber that hints at coming adventures; otherwise the page is white and fresh and somehow open for anything.

— meghan cox gurdon, WSJ, "Children’s Books: Meeting the People in the Paintings," 5 July 2018
Those larvae then devour the wood, their zig-zag feeding patterns clearly delineated.

— frank fitzpatrick, Philly.com, "Ashes of an industry: A Pennsylvania tradition is dying, one baseball bat at a time," 14 June 2018
Although rails and plantings are envisioned to delineate the footprint of the 1836 battle compound, Kramer said the plaza would be open, walkable space.

— scott huddleston, San Antonio Express-News, "Second Alamo meeting draws larger, quieter crowd — and more criticism," 19 June 2018
Effective welfare reform ought to include provisions for physicians’ client-health statements to delineate what the client can do.

— WSJ, "Focus on the Work the Injured Can Perform," 11 June 2018
Alam is careful to delineate the exhausting, embarrassing elements of early motherhood’s routines: diapers, dishes, ruptures, tears, changes, nightmares.

— hannah giorgis, The Atlantic, "Rumaan Alam Ponders the Limits of Parental Love," 15 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'delineate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.