delineation

noun

de·​lin·​ea·​tion di-ˌli-nē-ˈā-shən 

dē-

1

: the act of outlining or representing something with lines or words : the act of delineating

the delineation of a scene

… the delineation of the territories allotted to the seven tribes of Israel …

—Adam Nicholson

2

: something made by delineating

a photographic delineation of low life

—T. S. Eliot

delineative

di-ˈli-nē-ˌā-tiv 

dē-

adjective

Synonyms

• sketch
• drawing
• depiction
• portrait
• illustration
• image

Examples of delineation in a Sentence

his simple but striking delineations of Dutch landscapes

a finely wrought delineation of a young woman's first experience with romantic love

Recent Examples on the Web

While the claim has no legal or historical basis, the delineation makes major incursions into waters around Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia and, to a lesser extent, Brunei and Indonesia as well. —John Rennie Short, The Conversation, 18 June 2025

An important part of this restructuring will be creating a clear delineation between people’s jobs and AI’s job so that there are no gray areas. —Marco Santos, Forbes.com, 9 May 2025

Humans love sharp delineations, but the universe is under no obligation to obey them. —Phil Plait, Scientific American, 8 May 2025

Within the public domain, there is further delineation between market participants, depending on the liquidity of their stock and the accompanying derivatives market. —Alexander S. Blume, Forbes.com, 10 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Late Latin dēlīneātiōn-, dēlīneātiō "description," from Latin dēlīneāre "to trace the outline of, delineate" + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of verbal action

First Known Use

1570, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for delineation

• abdication
• aberration
• abjuration
• abnegation
• abrogation
• acceptation
• acclamation
• acclimation
• accusation
• activation
• actuation
• acylation