describe

verb

di-ˈskrīb How to pronounce describe (audio)
Definition of describenext
1
as in to depict
to give a representation or account of in words he tried to describe the dream he had last night as accurately as he could

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to tell
to give an oral or written account of in some detail a biography of Washington that describes the decisive Battle of Yorktown at great length

Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in to characterize
to point out the chief quality or qualities of an individual or group how would you describe the Inupiat people you encountered in Alaska?

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 describe Each sister also consented to donate her brain after death, a commitment the School Sisters of Notre Dame describe on their website as central to the project. — Samantha Agate, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 16 July 2026 The waffle cone held a portion size that can only be described as generous. — Tristan Graziano, Charlotte Observer, 16 July 2026 Indeed, the escalation ladder describes some things that are already happening. — Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 16 July 2026 He is described as Black, in his 50s, about 6 feet tall with a medium build. — Harry Harris, Mercury News, 16 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for describe
Recent Examples of Synonyms for describe
  1. depict
  2. tell
  3. characterize
  4. portray
  5. relate
  6. define
  7. illustrate
  8. recount
Verb
  • Dalí included references to major events in Western history; for example, the Ten of Swords card depicts the stabbing of Julius Caesar, while the Queen of Cups is a jokey vandalism of François Clouet’s portrait Elisabeth of Austria, Queen of France.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 13 July 2026
  • The discovery of the painting, depicting the interior of Amsterdam’s Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) and likely by Dutch Golden Age painter Hendrick van der Burgh, has an unusual history, according to De Telegraaf, which first reported the news.
    — Maximilíano Durón, ARTnews.com, 13 July 2026
Definition of depict
Verb
  • Their lawyer, Joseph McBride, told the AP his clients were innocent of the charges.
    — Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 19 July 2026
  • Residents from Minnesota to Washington, DC, told CNN the noxious air has disrupted their lives, seeping into everything from their health and leisure to their businesses and family life.
    — Dalia Faheid, CNN Money, 18 July 2026
Definition of tell
Verb
  • Nine-atom-wide armchair GNRs (9-AGNRs) were synthesized via a bottom-up on-surface approach, integrated into field-effect transistors (FETs), and characterized before and after exposure using Raman spectroscopy and electrical transport measurements.
    — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 17 July 2026
  • Taco Bell characterized its decision as a precautionary measure taken out of an abundance of caution despite the absence of a formal government advisory directing such action.
    — Gary Occhiogrosso, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026
Definition of characterize
Verb
  • Interpreting the story as theater, said actor Manos Pintzis, who portrayed Odysseus in the local production, helps children discover mythology in a way books alone cannot.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 13 July 2026
  • The character portrayed by the star of The Devil Wears Prada is the wife of Odysseus, played by Matt Damon, who spends ten years fighting in the Trojan War and another ten trying to return home.
    — Alessia Ferri, Vanity Fair, 13 July 2026
Definition of portray
Verb
  • Eight are women who had taken maternity or pregnancy-related leave, four are men who had taken parental leave and one is a woman who had taken leave to care for a family member and later bereavement leave.
    — Barbara Ortutay, Fortune, 15 July 2026
  • On Monday, Bonta’s office filed a motion to relate the case to a lawsuit filed in April by Paramount+ subscribers who alleged that the merger would harm competition and drive up prices.
    — Gene Maddaus, Variety, 15 July 2026
Definition of relate
Verb
  • The article posits these are the first public votes in a critical referendum, urging everyone to consciously define AI's boundaries in their work and personal lives.
    — Jason Snyder, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026
  • Rather than building every lavish living room and sweeping residence on a soundstage, productions often turn to real-life properties that help define their characters and set the tone.
    — Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 17 July 2026
Definition of define
Verb
  • Governing Oceans Through Data Indonesia’s experience illustrates a broader global transformation in maritime governance.
    — IEEE Spectrum, IEEE Spectrum, 16 July 2026
  • By redoing it, albeit with more high-tech equipment than was available in 1919, Harksen hopes to illustrate that even monumental experiments can be re-created by the average person.
    — Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 15 July 2026
Definition of illustrate
Verb
  • Marilyn recounted how Patty once yearned for a trampoline and brought it up every night before Christmas.
    — Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 16 July 2026
  • Even Flynn, a high school history teacher whose curriculum recounts the cyclical nature of wars and revolutions, needed to believe in that possibility of a reprieve, despite reiterating death’s inevitability in the classroom.
    — Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 15 July 2026
Definition of recount

Browse Nearby Words

descrambling
describe
described
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Describe.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/describe. Accessed 20 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on describe

Nglish: Translation of describe for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of raffish

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
child-detective
Spot the Misspelled Word July 2026 Those little red underlines can't help you now...
See All