Definition of DEPICT

Depict and Depiction

If you depict someone or something, you show what that person or thing is like—either in some kind of image (such as a drawing, painting, photograph, or movie), or with words.

What results from your efforts to depict that person or thing can be called a depiction. The noun depiction is included at this entry without a definition because its meaning can be easily understood from the definition of the verb—it's the act of, or an instance of, depicting something or someone—but some examples of depiction in a sentence might be helpful:

The depiction of the battle in the painting is not historically correct.

I think the novel is a good depiction of a typical modern American marriage.

Many were moved by the film's depictions of animals helping people.

The author's depiction of the practice as uncommon is problematic; it's done by millions of people throughout the world every day.

The essay is an honest depiction of life in the city.

The book is fascinating in its depiction of the country's early history.

Examples of depict in a Sentence

The wall was painted with a large mural depicting famous scenes from American history. Several of the architect's most famous buildings will soon be depicted on postage stamps. The photograph depicts the two brothers standing in front of a store. Angels are usually depicted with wings. In the drawing, the magic cap was depicted as a soft, black hat. The movie depicts the life of early settlers. I like the way she depicts the characters in her novels.

Recent Examples on the Web

The archetypal image of a baseball umpire originated in Norman Rockwell’s 1948 painting Tough Call, which depicts three signal-callers looking skyward as rain starts to fall during a game. — Jared Diamond, WSJ, "The Average Umpire Is Almost 50. The Best Ones Might Be in Their 30s.," 16 Apr. 2019 One day, all Minuteman III missiles will be dismantled in the manner depicted in this video. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "How to Dismantle a Nuclear Missile," 10 Apr. 2019 Brownie Harris/HULU Mother-daughter relationships are undeniably complicated, but few compare to the one depicted in the new Hulu series, The Act. — Alexis Jones, Marie Claire, "How True Is 'The Act'? The Hulu Series' Backstory Is Chilling," 20 Mar. 2019 Yet shows like The Tudors and Wolf Hall depict her as cunning and scorned, a woman who seduced her dead husband’s brother, who deserves to whither and die alone as a young, virile Henry VIII chases Anne Boleyn. — Julie Kosin, Harper's BAZAAR, "The First Teaser Trailer for," 25 Jan. 2019 But this year, GLAAD’s study saw a rise in depicting bi+ men and also in telling more nuanced stories of bi+ women. — Shannon Liao, The Verge, "2018 saw record growth in LGBTQ roles on television," 26 Oct. 2018 More popular was the novel-in-stories, which has emerged as the perfect form to depict the often-invisible nature of 21st-century interconnection. — Sam Sacks, WSJ, "Fiction: A Year in the Life of a Short Story," 28 Dec. 2018 Yet there’s one thing about A Midwinter’s Tale that’s leaving watchers bereft of Solstice cheer: Its melancholy ending seems to depict Sabrina’s relationship with Harvey as over – for good. — Tess Garcia, Teen Vogue, "Kiernan Shipka on Sabrina and Harvey's Fate in "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina"," 16 Dec. 2018 The basic profile of monopoles depicts them as elementary particles carrying magnetic charge. — Adam Hadhazy, Discover Magazine, "Scientists Hunt for A Seeming Paradox: A Magnet With Only One Pole," 13 Nov. 2018

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