Thesaurus results for DEFINING

defining

verb

present participle of define

as in tracing

to draw or make apparent the outline of the glass skyscraper's sleek silhouette was strikingly defined by the setting sun to its west

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Relevance

as in describing

to mark the limits of the river defines the town on the south

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as in characterizing

to point out the chief quality or qualities of an individual or group a woman who is defined by her unswerving loyalty to her friends

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as in specifying

to give the rules about (something) clearly and exactly let me define the task so that there is no doubt in your minds about what needs to be done

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of defining The many-years-sober Levinson drew from his experiences as an addict to shape Euphoria, but more important were his edgelord proclivities, which went from shading the story of how these high-schoolers lived to defining it. —

Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 8 Apr. 2026 Long before Tucker Carlson brought great replacement talk into prime time on Fox News, VDARE treated the concept as the defining issue of our time. —

Literary Hub, 8 Apr. 2026 But Shapiro warned Democrats against defining themselves solely in opposition to Trump, arguing the party must offer a clear governing vision. —

Samantha-Jo Roth, The Washington Examiner, 8 Apr. 2026 And that, a group of researchers argues, is the defining vulnerability of the agentic AI era. —

Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 8 Apr. 2026 The case would be career defining for prosecutor Gail Levine. —

Troy Roberts, CBS News, 8 Apr. 2026 That remix, with its distinctive blend of Spanish and English and an iconic accompanying dance, became one of the defining pop culture moments of the decade. —

Ryan Brennan april 8, Charlotte Observer, 8 Apr. 2026 This quite plainly is a group of adult activists foisting their political causes onto the next generation, defining students in their own image, and asking them to carry these burdens for them. —

The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 8 Apr. 2026 The administration has sought to downplay any emerging comparisons between Bush’s defining foreign engagement, Iraq, and its actions in Iran. —

Hugh Cameron, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Apr. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for defining

Verb

The lineup sparked immediate buzz across social media, with the group headlining opening night alongside Jaÿ-Z—a full-circle moment tracing back to their MTV Unplugged collaboration nearly 25 years ago—with Erykah Badu closing out the second night.

— Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 3 Apr. 2026
The museum explores the roots of Silicon Valley, tracing a time when machines were little more than terminals connecting users to room-sized computing systems.

— Loureen Ayyoub, CBS News, 2 Apr. 2026