Describe Definition
dĭ-skrīb
described, describes, describing
verb
described, describes, describing
To tell or write about; give a detailed account of.
Webster's New World
To convey an idea or impression of; characterize.
She described her childhood as a time of wonder and discovery.
American Heritage
To picture in words.
Webster's New World
To move through space in such a way as to represent or conform to (the outline of a given shape)
The gymnast's rotating arm described an arc.
Webster's New World
To represent pictorially; depict.
Goya's etchings describe the horrors of war in grotesque detail.
American Heritage
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
Origin of Describe
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From Middle English descriven, from Old French descrivre, from Latin dēscrībō (“I copy off, transcribe, sketch off, describe in painting or writing”), from dē (“off”) + scrībō (“write”); see scribe and shrive.
From Wiktionary
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Middle English describen from Latin dēscrībere to write down dē- de- scrībere to write skrībh- in Indo-European roots
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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