depiction
noun
de·pic·tion
di-ˈpik-shən 
dē-
plural depictions
: a representation in words or images of someone or something
The book is fascinating in its depiction of the country's early history.
The first part of the book … is a depiction of the nearly lost world of a North American hunter-gatherer community.—
Timothy Egan
Timothy EganThe late Vermont artist Stephen Huneck made works that are instantly recognizable—bright, accessible, folky depictions of dogs enjoying themselves.—James Heflin
James HeflinBy comparison with the depiction of domesticity in such 1950s staples as The Donna Reed Show and Ozzie and Harriet, the portrait of family life on The Dick Van Dyke Show, the emblematic sitcom of the early 1960s, seemed staggering in its sheer smartness and casual elegance.—Bruce Bawer
Bruce BawerExamples of depiction in a Sentence
the set piece of the novel is a depiction of the battle that makes readers feel like they were there
Recent Examples on the Web
This film is a succinct display of craft in writing, directing, acting, and a deeply insightful depiction of the distorted state of American values today.
—Matthew Carey, Deadline, 28 Jan. 2026
Using a combination of AI classification and human review, researchers estimated that about 65 percent of all images were sexualized depictions of people, and a small but significant fraction involved children.
—The Ai Insider, Interesting Engineering, 26 Jan. 2026
But that depiction was picked apart by a vast array of online onlookers, from law enforcement experts to ordinary Instagram users, some of whom replayed the videos frame by frame and zoomed in to show the episode in frightening detail.
—Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 25 Jan. 2026
The death threats began soon after the publication in 1988 of his fourth novel, The Satanic Verses, when the Ayatollah Khomeini, supreme leader of Iran, issued a fatwa calling for Rushdie’s death over what some viewed as the book’s irreverent depiction of Muhammad.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 25 Jan. 2026
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Matthew Carey, Deadline, 28 Jan. 2026
Using a combination of AI classification and human review, researchers estimated that about 65 percent of all images were sexualized depictions of people, and a small but significant fraction involved children.
—The Ai Insider, Interesting Engineering, 26 Jan. 2026
But that depiction was picked apart by a vast array of online onlookers, from law enforcement experts to ordinary Instagram users, some of whom replayed the videos frame by frame and zoomed in to show the episode in frightening detail.
—Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 25 Jan. 2026
The death threats began soon after the publication in 1988 of his fourth novel, The Satanic Verses, when the Ayatollah Khomeini, supreme leader of Iran, issued a fatwa calling for Rushdie’s death over what some viewed as the book’s irreverent depiction of Muhammad.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 25 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for depiction
Cite this Entry
“Depiction.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/depiction. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.
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