1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

described

verb

past tense of describe
1
as in depicted
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 chronicled
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 characterized
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 described Tensions had already intensified Monday when Pakistani fighter jets struck sites in eastern Afghanistan that Islamabad described as militant hideouts. — Munir Ahmed, Arkansas Online, 26 Sep. 2026 Maduko’s behavior, as described in the report, appears to have grown increasingly aggressive in his alleged harassment of women in the CSCU system. — Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 26 Sep. 2026 The news comes as the latest development in York’s preparations for the storms ahead, which have been described as a nor’easter. — Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 25 Sep. 2026 Garlin was accused by members of the cast and crew of inappropriate verbal conduct, unwanted physical contact, including hugging and touching, and behavior that some employees described as creating an uncomfortable work environment. — Ashley Hume, FOXNews.com, 25 Sep. 2026 The red car then pulled up in front of the victim’s building, and the suspect, who police described as a heavyset woman dressed all in black, stepped out of the vehicle. — Roni Jacobson, New York Daily News, 25 Sep. 2026 Raman described Sosnick as a constituent and a board member with the Oaks Neighborhood Assn. — David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026 In both cases, individual deliverables looked complete while the business described itself inconsistently. — Oleg Levitas, Forbes.com, 25 Sep. 2026 The studio whirred to what has been described as Aison’s fresh and distinct take on the police helicopter angle, which really hasn’t been explored since 1983’s thriller Blue Thunder. — Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 25 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for described
  1. depicted
  2. chronicled
  3. characterized
  4. portrayed
  5. recounted
  6. defined
  7. illustrated
  8. told
Verb
  • Salort-Pons’s X-ray analysis showed that this costume was the one Velázquez had originally depicted Olivares wearing.
    — Maximilíano Durón, ARTnews.com, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Like the woolly rhino, the Irish elk is depicted on the cave walls of Chauvet in France.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of depicted
Verb
  • The manuscript Wayne read to us that night chronicled his involvement with Gloria Swanson, the towering star of Hollywood’s Golden Age who enjoyed latter-day acclaim in 1950 playing a delusional has-been in Sunset Boulevard.
    — Mike Hogan, Vanity Fair, 24 Sep. 2026
  • Published in 2018, Pollan’s book How to Change Your Mind chronicled the journalist’s investigation into the history and science of psychedelics, including his own personal experimentation.
    — Claire Hoffman, Rolling Stone, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of chronicled
Verb
  • The investigation into Toro follows a complaint from Bigelow that alleges the workplace culture under Toro’s leadership is characterized as oppressive, bullying and fearful, according to the complaint.
    — Livi Stanford, Hartford Courant, 20 Sep. 2026
  • This is the visual flow of the arrangement, which is characterized by the repetition of elements or features.
    — Madeline Buiano, Martha Stewart, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of characterized
Verb
  • Her excellent debut, 2007’s Free Food for Millionaires, features upwardly mobile Korean Americans whose desire for security Lee portrayed both sympathetically and critically.
    — Sanjena Sathian, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2026
  • Among the 41 characters portrayed as having narcolepsy, 68% were depicted as incapable or unreliable.
    — Sandee LaMotte, CNN Money, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of portrayed
Verb
  • Speaking at works-in-progress presentation at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in July, Oscar-winning The Incredibles and Ratatouille director Bird recounted how the movie has been a 30-year-long passion project.
    — Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 23 Sep. 2026
  • On the same day the Mets announced a new manager, Brandon Nimmo recounted a story about an old one.
    — Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of recounted
Verb
  • There was a time when Florida-Auburn was one of the games that defined the SEC.
    — Mike Bianchi, The Orlando Sentinel, 20 Sep. 2026
  • Since there are few walls in the living areas of the home, rooms are defined in other ways.
    — James Alexander, Hartford Courant, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of defined
Verb
  • The book features illustrations from Demelsa Haughton, who also illustrated Tori and the Muses and is known for her retelling of six Hans Christian Anderson fairy tales, among her many other works.
    — Althea Legaspi, Rolling Stone, 24 Sep. 2026
  • Re-creating the Book Cover for Fans The scene illustrated on the cover of Hazelwood’s novel—Olive and Adam’s first kiss—is the catalyst for everything that happens in the story and was shot multiple times from different angles.
    — Jesa Marie Calaor, Allure, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of illustrated
Verb
  • Even if Paramount is able to reach a settlement with the state AGs, the Paramount-WB merger will not close immediately, a knowledgeable source told Variety.
    — Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 21 Sep. 2026
  • Descano’s team relies too heavily on doctors to answer those questions at the pretrial stage, Stimson told the Washington Examiner.
    — Hudson Crozier, The Washington Examiner, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of told

Browse Nearby Words

describe
described
describes
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Described.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/described. Accessed 28 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
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 bellwether

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

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

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

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 25
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
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
image of the words cracker fly and sale arranged in a triangle with the word fire in the middle
Triple Play Quiz Find the word that pairs with each of the three g...
See All