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as in detachment
a small military unit with a special task or function the officer sent out a detail to patrol the perimeter of the compound

Synonyms & Similar Words

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detail

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verb

Synonym Chooser

How does the noun detail contrast with its synonyms?

The words item and particular are common synonyms of detail. While all three words mean "one of the distinct parts of a whole," detail applies to one of the small component parts of a larger whole such as a task, building, painting, narration, or process.

leave the details to others

When could item be used to replace detail?

In some situations, the words item and detail are roughly equivalent. However, item applies to each thing specified separately in a list or in a group of things that might be listed or enumerated.

every item on the list

When might particular be a better fit than detail?

While in some cases nearly identical to detail, particular stresses the smallness, singleness, and especially the concreteness of a detail or item.

a description that included few particulars

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 detail
Noun
The survey also gathered more details on the top priorities. Gary Warth, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Apr. 2025 Daytime colors showed good saturation, and image detail was sharp. PC Magazine, 28 Apr. 2025
Verb
The stainless-steel set includes dinner forks and teaspoons with elegant beaded detailing on the handles. Nora Colomer May Earn A Commission If You Buy Through Our Referral Links. This Content Was Created By A Team That Works Independently From The Fox Newsroom., FOXNews.com, 27 Apr. 2025 Immediately after meetings, Sloan would craft brief summaries detailing key points, decisions, and action items. Dan Pontefract, Forbes.com, 26 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for detail
Recent Examples of Synonyms for detail
Noun
  • Since then, some of those items have received waivers from China's 125% tariffs on the U.S. goods.
    Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 3 May 2025
  • The research firm also discovered that the number of new crispy chicken items has doubled in the first quarter of this year compared to the same time period in 2024.
    Jordan Valinsky, CNN Money, 3 May 2025
Noun
  • In fact, all weekend long, the South African star has been delivering one knockout outfit after another.
    Christian Allaire, Vogue, 4 May 2025
  • In fact, the pair seemingly met at a birthday party for Blake Lively's daughter a month before their romance went public.
    Glamour, Glamour, 4 May 2025
Noun
  • Interior spaces, like an empty hospital corridor where Nina awaits bad news, tend to be statically and symmetrically framed, an aesthetic decision that, in this environment, might evoke a sterile, clinical detachment.
    Justin Chang, New Yorker, 25 Apr. 2025
  • Or maybe they’ve been reunited physically on the big screen but are not fully over their detachment.
    Adam Tschorn, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Wearing his trusty tape measure around his neck, Mancinelli said he had not yet been formally commissioned by the Vatican but was busy preparing for the prestige job, working on his sewing machine as well as hand stitching robes.
    Chiara Rodriquez, USA Today, 1 May 2025
  • For the government jobs left at the state and local level, recent grads are likely competing with those departing from federal jobs.
    Maria Gracia Santillana Linares, Forbes.com, 30 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Lillard, stationed near the logo, planted on his left foot to go after the ball—and immediately crumpled to the floor, clutching at his left heel.
    Brian Sampson, Forbes.com, 28 Apr. 2025
  • According to a presentation shown at the commissioners’ meeting on Tuesday, Boom plans to station 10 to 15 engineers and technicians in Adams County to perfect the Overture’s engine, dubbed Symphony — a turbofan engine with a 35,000-pound thrust.
    John Aguilar, Denver Post, 24 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • DeSantis named Moody to the U.S. Senate to fill out Marco Rubio's term after Rubio was appointed Secretary of State by President Trump.
    Greg Allen, NPR, 24 Apr. 2025
  • For context, in 2017 Kirk confessed to stepping out on Rashida with a stripper named Jasmine Washington and impregnating her during season 6 of LAHH ATL.
    Essence, Essence, 24 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Hudson also listed a fourth property on the mortgage documents for those purchases.
    Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 2 May 2025
  • Elliot Page Meyer also listed Elliot Page — who came out as transgender in 2020 — as a potential to play Bella.
    Emily Blackwood, People.com, 2 May 2025
Noun
  • Randy Haight – at the time a young patrol officer who was at the crime scene — met his partner at the hospital.
    Erin Moriarty, Liza Finley, CBS News, 4 May 2025
  • Some have expressed concerns that patrol officers would be taken out of the field to backfill certain desk jobs.
    Libor Jany, Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Detail.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/detail. Accessed 7 May. 2025.

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