Describe Meaning
/dɪˈskɹaɪb/Definition, CEFR level A1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo represent in words.
verbTo represent by drawing; to draw a plan of; to delineate; to trace or mark out.
Sentence Examples
Bill Clinton spoke in ambiguous language when asked to describe his relationship with Monica Lewinsky.
Can you describe the object?
The scene of the murder was too terrible to describe.
CEFR Practice Quiz
Can you ____ the suspect's appearance to the sketch artist clearly?
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Bill Clinton spoke in ambiguous language when asked to ____ his relationship with Monica Lewinsky.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English descriven, from Old French descrivre, from Latin dēscrībō (“to copy off, transcribe, sketch off, describe in painting or writing”), from dē (“off”) + scrībō (“write”); see scribe and shrive. Displaced native Old English āmearcian.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Between 8 and 9 p.m., the recorder at a meteorological station at Harrow, Middlesex, picked up 1,470 lightning flashes within a radius of 10 to 15 miles, and observers at the station described the storm as "probably one of the most spectacular of the century.""
— 1958 November 26, “Storm Damage in the Home Counties”, in Railway Magazine, page 746:
"[…]his lordship was out of humour. That was the way Chollacombe described as knaggy an old gager as ever Charles had had the ill-fortune to serve. Stiff-rumped, that's what he was, always rubbing the rust, or riding grub, like he had been for months past."
— 1959, Georgette Heyer, chapter 1, in The Unknown Ajax:
"Yet the truth is that City would probably have been coasting by that point if the referee, Michael Oliver, had not turned down three separate penalties, at least two of which could be accurately described as certainties."
— 2014 November 2, Daniel Taylor, “Sergio Agüero strike wins derby for Manchester City against 10-man United”, in The Guardian:
"Mae, who describes herself on Patreon as a 20-year-old university student from Canada, holds several world records for Baldur’s Gate 3 speedruns already — including her insane 4:15 any% speedrun."
— 2024 January 27, Eliana Bollati, “Baldur’s Gate 3 speedrunner smashes two world records in just two days”, in Dexerto:
"Among the documents Donald Trump’s would-be-assassin studied while formulating his plans for an attack on the former president was a public document from the Department of Homeland Security, describing different kinds of improvised explosive devices and the number of explosives needed to inflict casualties over certain distances, a senior law enforcement official told CNN."
— 2024 August 28, John Miller and Sabrina Shulman, “FBI discovered a DHS document describing improvised explosive devices during investigation of Trump’s would-be assassin”, in CNN:
Explore More A1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
Can you ____ the suspect's appearance to the sketch artist clearly?
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Bill Clinton spoke in ambiguous language when asked to ____ his relationship with Monica Lewinsky.