describing

verb

present participle of describe
1
as in depicting
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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in telling
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 characterizing
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 describing Over three dozen letters from friends, family and neighbors describing their generosity and kindness were submitted. — Kara Scannell, CNN Money, 25 Oct. 2026 Moghadam also said that Tehran would study the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement that includes Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey before deciding whether to support it, describing it as a potential instrument for unity. — ABC News, 24 Oct. 2026 The women also developed close relationships with each other's children, with Meinhold describing Leslie as an important presence in her son's life. — Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 24 Oct. 2026 Advertisement Our current language for describing AI works differently. — David Litt, Time, 23 Oct. 2026 Librarian Regina Andrews, known for her salons, exudes the dignified air of a beloved host, vividly describing the communal groundswell every young thinker and creative then could sense happening. — Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026 Finding pain in a neural network Tagliabue and his coauthors, Leonard Dung of Ruhr University Bochum and Cameron Berg, founder and director of Reciprocal Research, started by writing short first-person sentences describing painful situations. — Shae Lake, Fortune, 22 Oct. 2026 Online reviews show similar complaints dating back months, with customers describing mice inside the theater. — Sarah Horbacewicz, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026 The actor praised Chris Rock’s writing as fearless, describing her character as contradictory, self-destructive and prone to terrible decisions. — Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 21 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for describing
  1. depicting
  2. telling
  3. characterizing
  4. portraying
  5. recounting
  6. defining
  7. rendering
  8. relating
Verb
  • Sacramento police have arrested two Sacramento men in connection with the theft of the bronze sculpture depicting Ben Ali, California’s first Kentucky Derby winner, in Old North Sacramento.
    — Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 22 Oct. 2026
  • The camera lingers on the building’s triangular windows and towering bronze sculpture depicting hands passing a Torah from one generation to the next.
    — Yael Buechler, Sun Sentinel, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of depicting
Verb
  • Using such guidelines as the standard is reasonable, which is exactly what makes his handling of them so telling.
    — Torie Bosch, STAT, 24 Oct. 2026
  • One invective accuses the directors of destroying the truth-telling potential of documentary.
    — Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of telling
Verb
  • Blumenkranz rebuffed those claims, characterizing the current depth of collectors being a mix of longtime collectors who have supported FOG for years alongside a newer generation of collectors, some of whom have made their wealth in tech.
    — Maximilíano Durón, ARTnews.com, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Wilkinson countered that what was at issue was that the network has to go through the early renewal process at all, characterizing it as an act of retaliation that is ripe for district court review.
    — Ted Johnson, Deadline, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of characterizing
Verb
  • The younger Bolsonaro has denied climate change while portraying himself as an environmental defender, without detailing plans to protect the Amazon or support forest financing.
    — Gabriela Sá Pessoa, Los Angeles Times, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Meanwhile, there are AI safety researchers who fear that portraying such incidents as easily remedied security failures gives political cover to those who want AI development to proceed unchecked.
    — Harry Booth, Time, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of portraying
Verb
  • The film ends with a retired Bell recounting two dreams to his wife, both about his father.
    — Frannie Comstock, Encyclopedia Britannica, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Without recounting every amusing or harrowing detail, a good deal of interactive psychological grilling ensued.
    — Chris Willman, Variety, 11 Oct. 2026
Definition of recounting
Verb
  • Yet as black became a defining color of modern fashion, most famously through Gabrielle Chanel’s little black dress of 1926, its association with mourning gradually loosened.
    — Livia Caligor, Vogue, 21 Oct. 2026
  • In From Day One As countries build generation-defining infrastructure—road and rail tunnels, smart stadiums and hospital precincts—connectivity is too often bolted on late in construction.
    — Stephen Farrugia, Forbes.com, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of defining
Verb
  • Halo 4, 5, and Infinite used sci-fi nonsense to transform him into this larger-than-life figure, rendering the rest of the UNSC largely powerless in the process.
    — Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Earlier this year, Alta began powering all AI within Rent the Runway’s app—and Rent the Runway saw a 35% increase in engagement after integrating Alta’s styling and rendering capabilities.
    — Emma Hinchliffe, Fortune, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of rendering
Verb
  • Conflict with Indigenous peoples on the Maine frontier had sent traumatized refugees into the region, relating horror stories of attacks on their homes.
    — Jennifer Byrne, Popular Science, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Vollmann was also pessimistic, relating that feeling comes from more than America’s current political issues, but also from the world’s environmental problems.
    — Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 11 Oct. 2026
Definition of relating

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Cite this Entry

“Describing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/describing. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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