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 Rodríguez described scenes of children hospitalized with amputations and survivors grieving multiple family deaths. — Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 3 July 2026 Tribes describe the last of three waves of European incursions, nearly 85 years after Serra hung the first Mission bell in San Diego in 1769, as the most brutal. — Karissa Waddick, USA Today, 3 July 2026 On April 8, the broad S&P 500 index finished that session below the 5,000 mark and within inches of the threshold for a bear market, a term used to describe a 20% drawdown from a recent high. — Alex Harring,luke Fountain, CNBC, 2 July 2026 Ukraine’s frequent attacks inside Russia — described by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as a 40-day blitz — have especially targeted oil refineries, causing a fuel crisis that has frustrated Russians already feeling the war’s economic toll. — Hanna Arhirova, Los Angeles Times, 2 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
  • Barin is the hotel’s high-end teppanyaki restaurant, seating 10 people at the counter and up to 16 in booths lining a long mural hand-drawn on gold leaf depicting Osaka’s history.
    — Kathryn Romeyn, Travel + Leisure, 7 July 2026
  • Zhenwu’s roots stretch back to ancient days as the god of the North, when he was often depicted as a turtle entwined with a snake.
    — Michael Naparstek, The Conversation, 6 July 2026
Definition of depict
Verb
  • During Murdaugh’s first status hearing on Monday, June 29, Judge Debra McCaslin did not rule on the DNA evidence, telling defense attorneys to clarify if the sample was viable.
    — Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 5 July 2026
  • My parents tell stories about me sleeping through loud construction, alarms, and heavy knocks on my bedroom door.
    — Better Homes & Gardens, Better Homes & Gardens, 5 July 2026
Definition of tell
Verb
  • To characterize the new mode, Kyle Uckert, SHERLOC’s deputy principal investigator at NASA’s JPL, and his colleagues collected spectra from spare flight optics in their own lab.
    — Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 4 July 2026
  • The standoff forces the platform to weigh compliance against a potentially expanding pattern of government control over social media — a tension that has also characterized India’s years-long friction with X over content-takedown orders.
    — Anisha Sircar, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026
Definition of characterize
Verb
  • For all her talk of women as allies, Siebel Newsom portrays conservative women who criticize other women as dupes manipulated by MAGA leaders.
    — Jenny Jarvie Follow, Los Angeles Times, 7 July 2026
  • Rob, who died in December at age 78, portrayed George Washington in a segment inspired by the first president’s decision to step away after two terms in office.
    — Deirdre Durkan, PEOPLE, 7 July 2026
Definition of portray
Verb
  • Fable 5 included guardrails that prevented the AI system from assisting with a wide range of cybersecurity- and biology-related tasks.
    — Jared Perlo, NBC news, 1 July 2026
  • Unlike genetic or age related decline, this cause is entirely preventable at any age.
    — Allison Palmer, Miami Herald, 1 July 2026
Definition of relate
Verb
  • Victor Willis, Village People’s lead singer, dies Victor Willis, lead singer of the Village People who helped define the disco movement of the 1970s, died June 30.
    — Robert Abitbol, USA Today, 4 July 2026
  • Instead of looking only for escapements or technical innovation, Newman encourages appreciation of cases, dials, proportions, engraving, and overall design—the same qualities that define today’s most desirable independent watches.
    — Victoria Gomelsky, Robb Report, 3 July 2026
Definition of define
Verb
  • The Pew report illustrates why homeownership is increasingly the province of older Americans, and why first-time buyers seem like a vanishing breed.
    — Daniel de Visé, USA Today, 3 July 2026
  • The design and materials of devices such as bone saws, fleams and scarifacators – used to bleed veins and skin surfaces – illustrate the close affinity of humans with other animals.
    — Katherine Ott, The Conversation, 2 July 2026
Definition of illustrate
Verb
  • Oswaks recounted moments from the event in his interview with the outlet, noting how the pro-Palestinian protesters vastly outnumbered them that day.
    — Anders Hagstrom, FOXNews.com, 2 July 2026
  • Harry recounted his and Markle’s last visit to his mother’s grave in his memoir, Spare.
    — Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 2 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 7 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!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

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

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

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
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
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All