as in to describe
to give a representation or account of in words
he limned the scene in the courtroom so perfectly I could practically see it
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Recent Examples of limn
Last Summer in the City seems to limn his own life: Like Calligarich, the novel’s protagonist, Leo Gazarra, leaves Milan for Rome and a writing job, and when that job disappears, spends his summer days at the beach and his nights drifting from party to party, woman to woman.
—
Vogue, 29 May 2021
The adjacent desperations of the Emory family are meant to limn the material and psychological effects of living under the threat of anti-Blackness in America.
—Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 14 Apr. 2021
Nonetheless, Democrats want to be perceived as favoring virtually universal suffrage, and to limn their conservative and Republican opposition as favoring vote suppression.
—Andrew C. McCarthy, National Review, 3 Nov. 2020
Her poems, which have appeared in The New Yorker for over thirty years, limn the legacies of history, in her home country and beyond, and reckon especially with the repression of women’s accomplishments, realities, and inner lives.
—Hannah Aizenman, The New Yorker, 29 Apr. 2020
See All Example Sentences for limn
Vogue, 29 May 2021
The adjacent desperations of the Emory family are meant to limn the material and psychological effects of living under the threat of anti-Blackness in America.
—Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 14 Apr. 2021
Nonetheless, Democrats want to be perceived as favoring virtually universal suffrage, and to limn their conservative and Republican opposition as favoring vote suppression.
—Andrew C. McCarthy, National Review, 3 Nov. 2020
Her poems, which have appeared in The New Yorker for over thirty years, limn the legacies of history, in her home country and beyond, and reckon especially with the repression of women’s accomplishments, realities, and inner lives.
—Hannah Aizenman, The New Yorker, 29 Apr. 2020
See All Example Sentences for limn
Recent Examples of Synonyms for limn
Verb
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In the early 2010s, Courtois was part of the team that discovered and described the Laniakea supercluster of galaxies to which our Milky Way belongs.—
Caroline Carlson,
Literary Hub,
3 Nov. 2025
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Roberts Giuffre died by suicide in April, months before the publication of her book describing years of abuse.—
Erin Mansfield,
USA Today,
2 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Hines also said her memoir, Unscripted, depicts her relationship with her husband in a positive light.—
Greta Bjornson,
PEOPLE,
30 Oct. 2025
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What’s more, the substance of their scenes is as much a matter of Mateus’s images as of the action that’s depicted.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
30 Oct. 2025
Verb
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At the time, Agnes had been working with General Mills as one of the women who anonymously portrayed Betty Crocker on the radio.—
Colson Thayer,
PEOPLE,
31 Oct. 2025
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The annulment, first reported by Sports Business Journal, came as a surprise, given that the parties had portrayed the deal as having been consummated.—
Daniel Libit,
Sportico.com,
30 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Limn.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/limn. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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