describede‧scribe /dɪˈskraɪb/ ●●● S2 W1 verb [transitive] 
The police asked her to describe the man. Another approach to the problem is described in Chapter 3.describe somebody/something as (being/having) something After the operation her condition was described as comfortable. The youth is described as being 18 to 19 years old.describe how/why/what etc It’s difficult to describe how I feel.describe somebody/something to somebody So describe this new boyfriend to me!describe doing something He described finding his mother lying on the floor.2describe a circle/an arc etc formal to make a movement which forms the shape of a circle etc: Her hand described a circle in the air.THESAURUSdescribe to talk or write about a person, place, event etc, in order to show what they are like: · Could you try and describe the man you saw?· In her book, she describes her journey across the Sahara.· Police described the attack as particularly violent.tell somebody about somebody/something to describe someone or something to someone. This phrase is more commonly used than describe in everyday spoken English: · So, tell me about your holiday!· My friends have told me all about you!depict formal to describe someone or something in a piece of writing: · His stories depict life in Trinidad as seen through the eyes of a young boy.· In this new biography she is depicted as a lonely and unhappy woman.portray/represent formal to describe someone or something in a particular way: · College teachers are often represented on television shows as slightly eccentric.· The magazine has been criticized for the way it portrays women.· The treatment has been portrayed as a painless way of curing cancer, which is simply not true.· Police have represented her as a willing participant in the crimes.characterize somebody/something as something formal to describe someone or something by emphasizing one particular quality or feature about them: · He characterized himself as ‘an average American’.· The successful schools were characterized as innovative and creative.paint somebody/something as something to describe someone or something, especially in a way that makes people believe something that is not true: · Not all young people are as bad as they’re painted in the press.· We won, yet the media is painting it as a victory for our opponents.· The woman was painted as having only a slight grasp of reality.paint a picture to describe a situation, so that people can get a general idea of what it is like: · Can you paint a picture of life in Japan for us?· My uncle’s letters generally painted a rosy picture of how things were.· The report painted a bleak picture of the management’s failures.
WORD ORIGINdescribe
Origin:
1400-1500 Latin describere, from scribere ‘to write’VERB TABLE
describe
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | describe |
| he, she, it | describes | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | described |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have described |
| he, she, it | has described | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had described |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will describe |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have described |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am describing |
| he, she, it | is describing | |
| you, we, they | are describing | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was describing |
| you, we, they | were describing | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been describing |
| he, she, it | has been describing | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been describing |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be describing |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been describing |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- Could you try and describe the man you saw?
- How would you describe yourself?
- I tried to describe the feeling to my doctor, but she didn't understand.
- In her book, she describes her journey across the Sahara.
- It's difficult to describe how I felt.
- Police described the attack as particularly violent.
- This Navajo folk tale describes the creation of the Earth.
- I will also try to describe why, after a decade of using Macintosh, I still find it exhilarating.
- It would be impossible to list them all or to describe how at different times they have been better or worse.
- Many of the players to whom we spoke described in some detail their own experiences of playing when injured.
- Our other project for this year - the Glenburrell bridge - was described in detail in the last Journal.
- Piaget described and accounted for the change of schemata with accommodation.
- The brokerage we just described is but one example of an enterprise at odds with itself.
- The need for time-cues to produce a body clock with a stable 24-hour period has already been described.
- To describe myself as Black in a situation where most people shared my complexion was absurd.
THESAURUS
to talk or write about a person, place, event etc, in order to show what they are like: · Could you try and describe the man you saw?· In her book, she describes her journey across the Sahara.· Police described the attack as particularly violent.
to describe someone or something to someone. This phrase is more commonly used than describe in everyday spoken English: · So, tell me about your holiday!· My friends have told me all about you!
formal to describe someone or something in a piece of writing: · His stories depict life in Trinidad as seen through the eyes of a young boy.· In this new biography she is depicted as a lonely and unhappy woman.
formal to describe someone or something in a particular way: · College teachers are often represented on television shows as slightly eccentric.· The magazine has been criticized for the way it portrays women.· The treatment has been portrayed as a painless way of curing cancer, which is simply not true.· Police have represented her as a willing participant in the crimes.
formal to describe someone or something by emphasizing one particular quality or feature about them: · He characterized himself as ‘an average American’.· The successful schools were characterized as innovative and creative.
to describe someone or something, especially in a way that makes people believe something that is not true: · Not all young people are as bad as they’re painted in the press.· We won, yet the media is painting it as a victory for our opponents.· The woman was painted as having only a slight grasp of reality.
to describe a situation, so that people can get a general idea of what it is like: · Can you paint a picture of life in Japan for us?· My uncle’s letters generally painted a rosy picture of how things were.· The report painted a bleak picture of the management’s failures.
Longman Language Activatorto describe someone or something to talk or write about a person, place, event etc, saying what they are like and giving details about them: · Could you try and describe the man you saw?· In her book, she describes her journey across the Sahara.describe somebody/something as: · Police described the attack as particularly violent.describe somebody/something to somebody: · I tried to describe the feeling to my doctor, but she didn't understand.describe how/what: · It's difficult to describe how I felt.
to describe someone or something, especially by giving details about what they look like: · King gave a detailed description of a dark-haired muscular man to police.· The brochure gives a general description of the island and some of the things you can do there.
to describe something that you have seen or experienced by talking to people about it: · Grandma always talks about the way they used to live on the farm.· You should talk about your problems with someone - maybe they can help you.
to describe a person, place, event, situation etc by writing about it: · Have the children write about what they did last summer.· Purcell wrote about his son's illness for a popular magazine.
spoken use this when you are asking someone to describe someone or something to you or when you are describing someone or something to them: · "I've just met Anna's new boyfriend." "What's he like?"· I'll try and explain to you what being in prison was like.
to describe something that happened, giving only the facts and not adding your own feelings or opinions: · Please give a brief account of your previous work experience.· The second witness gave a similar account of what happened.
written to describe an event, situation etc, especially as though it was a story, in order to make it sound more exciting or impressive: · Many of the prisoners have told of the terrible conditions they were kept in and how they were beaten.tell somebody of: · In the evenings Morris would tell us of his youth spent in Europe.
to describe someone or something in a way that shows your opinion to describe someone or something in a particular way that shows your opinion of them: · I wouldn't describe the job as boring, just a little repetitive sometimes.· John describes himself as the intelligent but shy type.· De la Cruz is described as Mexico's greatest woman poet.
to describe the character of someone or something in a particular way, especially with the result that people believe it to be true when it may not be: · A reporter characterized Mrs. Clinton as the most controversial first lady in modern history.· She grew up in a small Wisconsin community which she characterizes as conservative.
to describe someone or something in a negative way, especially incorrectly or unfairly: · Children who are labelled "slow" usually get less attention from teachers.· Critics have unfairly labelled Young a racist.label somebody/something as: · Campbell has labelled the commission's recommendations as sheer nonsense.
formal to describe someone or something in a particular way, especially in a way that makes people have an untrue idea of what they are like: · The magazine has been criticized for the way it portrays women.portray/represent somebody/something as: · The treatment has been portrayed as a painless way of curing cancer, which is untrue.· Police have represented her as a willing participant in the crimes.
to describe someone or something, especially in writing, by providing a lot of details which give a very true idea of what they are like: · His stories depict life in Trinidad as seen through the eyes of a young boy.depict somebody/something as: · In this new biography she is depicted as a lonely and unhappy woman.
: paint a bleak/grim/rosy etc picture to describe in a very pleasant or very unpleasant way, which may be very different from the truth: paint a picture of: · My uncle's letters generally painted a rosy picture of how things were.· He went on to paint a discouraging picture of the problems facing the state.
a written or spoken description what you say or write when you are describing a person, place, or thing: description of: · Write a description of someone you know well.give somebody a description: · Tom gave the police a description of his car.a full/detailed description (=containing all the important details): · You can read a detailed description of the products on their Web site.
a description of a situation or event, based on a study of the facts, that provides people with information about it and also tries to explain it: · The report is based on visits to schools in five cities.report on: · Amnesty International released another report on the government's use of torture.newspaper/news/television report: · News reports suggest that over 300 people may have died.
a written or spoken description of something that happened: account of: · The newspaper printed a detailed account of the trial.give an account: · In the magazine, Cook gives a colorful account of his first meeting with Hamilton.
a spoken description of an event such as a race or sports event which is given while it is happening, especially on the radio or television: · Joe Garagiola will provide the commentary tonight on Channel 7.commentary on: · Now let's go over to our London studio for commentary on the wrestling.running commentary (=a continuous commentary all the time that something is happening): · Sarah was looking out the window and giving us a running commentary on what was happening in the street.
a description of a person, thing, place etc that deliberately chooses particular details about them in order to make people form a particular opinion about them, especially a bad opinion: portrayal of: · Many have criticized Hollywood for its unrealistic portrayal of life in America.portrayal of somebody/something as: · I cannot accept the article's portrayal of these men as bloodthirsty terrorists.
a piece of writing that is descriptive contains a lot of details describing what someone or something is like, rather than telling a story or describing events: · The book contains many fine descriptive passages about everyday life in China.· When you write your paragraph, include as many descriptive details as possible.
a short description of someone's life, work, and character, especially of someone famous, that is written in a newspaper, shown on television etc: profile of: · Every week the magazine presents the profile of a well-known sports personality.· I heard a fascinating profile of Madeleine Albright on the radio yesterday.
to describe something or someone in a particular way · Olsen described herself as a campaign manager for the organization.· Critics have described the book as "garbage".· Eliot was described by Lewis as arrogant, sly and insincere.· How would you describe your relationship with your parents?
to describe someone or something in a particular way, especially when this is your opinion and other people might disagree: · People say she's too ambitious.· They say that Tokyo is one of the most expensive cities in the world.· It is an over-simplification to say that Britain is a democracy.
to use a particular word or phrase to describe someone or something in order to give your opinion of them: call somebody something: · Are you calling me a liar?· "She's a fraud." "I wouldn't call her that."· Already his followers were calling him a saint.call something something: · What he did was wrong, but I wouldn't call it a crime.
to describe someone, usually unfairly or incorrectly, as being a particular type or person, especially one that you disapprove of: label somebody (as) lazy/stupid/uncooperative etc: · The unemployed are often labelled as lazy or unreliable.label somebody (as) a troublemaker/alcoholic/dissident etc: · When we're ready to label them as suspects, we'll release their descriptions.· She lashed out at her critics who had labelled her a bimbo.
to describe someone or something as a bad type of person or thing, usually unfairly: brand somebody/something (as) unreliable/incompetent/foolish etc: · Brown's assistant has been branded in the papers as incompetent.brand somebody/something (as) a racist/traitor/coward etc: · Stalin's opponents were branded as spies and traitors.· Government posters from the 1930s branded marijuana a "killer drug."
to describe someone or something as being very good, especially in newspapers, magazines, on television etc: · This new drug is being hailed as a major breakthrough in the treatment of cancer.· Many still hail Elvis Presley as the King of Rock 'n' Roll.
when it is difficult to express ideas or feelings in words · She couldn't express how happy and relieved she was.· I cannot express my gratitude for your kindness.words can't express · Words can't express the terrible grief I felt on losing my daughter.
to be difficult to express what a feeling, experience, taste etc is like in words: · The atmosphere of tension and nervousness here is hard to describe.· The sound the bird makes is difficult to describe -- it's a bit like scissors opening and closing rapidly.
if emotions, situations etc are indescribable , they are so terrible, so good, or so strange that you cannot describe them properly: · The chaos and confusion was indescribable.indescribable joy/peace/horror/sadness etc: · I woke up on the day after my wedding with a feeling of indescribable joy.
formal an inexpressible emotion is one that is too strong to be described in words: · Looking up into his concerned brown eyes, I had felt an inexpressible sense of relief.inexpressible anger/gratitude/joy/longing etc: · And then, to her almost inexpressible joy, she saw the familiar tall, broad-shouldered figure across the station.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY After the operation her condition was described as comfortable. The youth is described as being 18 to 19 years old. It’s difficult to describe how I feel. So describe this new boyfriend to me! He described finding his mother lying on the floor.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES The changes in policy are fully described in the review. the phenomena variously known as ‘mass culture’, ‘popular culture’, or the ‘public arts’COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB
After the operation her condition was described as comfortable. The youth is described as being 18 to 19 years old. It’s difficult to describe how I feel. So describe this new boyfriend to me! He described finding his mother lying on the floor.· These points will be discussed in chapter 8.
· The doctor spent time describing the treatment in detail to me.
The changes in policy are fully described in the review.· Police asked the victim to describe the incident.
the phenomena variously known as ‘mass culture’, ‘popular culture’, or the ‘public arts’· The Zone will be either the Master, Primary or Secondary as described above.· Perhaps we might slow down a moment here and look at the realities described above.· This Job Control file is sent to the batch queue by the SUBMIT-JOB command as described above.· Primidone is only used when control is not achieved with one of the other drugs described above.· Romaine, Le Page and Tabouret-Keller and others have raised serious theoretical objections to the continuum hypothesis itself, as described above.· The measures being used for coping with ash handling problems for the first four options described above would also be applicable.· Long-term capital is mainly that provided by selling shares as described above and by retaining profits within the company.· Fill wrappers and cook as described above.
· One they describe as mechanistic, the other as organic.· In this light, the Queretaro workshops must be described as externally controlled enterprises aimed at proletarianization.· Aromatherapy is the only healing art which could be described as creative in an artistic sense.· Sypherd was described as arrogant, incompetent and hypocritical, and Pacheco was called ineffective, invisible and weak.· Frans Hals had painted portraits of girls who could only be described as plain, but something lively and piquant redeemed them.· The unit is affected by fear as described in the Psychology section of the Warhammer rules.· Special Rules Fear Trolls are large and extremely repulsive monsters which cause fear as described in the Psychology rules.· Deletions were cloned as described in Materials and Methods and transfected into F9 cells by electroporation.
· That, in the most general of terms, describes how the nursing process method is applied.· He describes how he killed two young workers taken prisoner in a pitched battle inside a factory workshop.· If so, please describe how this would be achieved.· He describes how the basic system has been tested and extended throughout the Authority, location by location and application by application.· Customers described how salesmen had continued their sales pitches for hours on end.
NOUN· In the next chapter, we describe a series of experiments designed to explore the extent of this problem.· This chapter describes that law, answering such questions as: What materials can be copyrighted?· In the remainder of this book and especially in the concluding chapter I will describe this reconfiguration in more detail.· This chapter will describe a structured, time-limited, assessment interview, and later examine a number of helpful questionnaires and inventories.· See previous discussion in this chapter describing treatment of trigeminal neuralgia, for the dosage schedule.· This chapter describes the research project that was carried out to develop the method.
· Parents should also be carefully questioned about how they are using it and should describe in detail what they do.· Instead, describe each step in detail.· For this reason it will be described in some detail.· The elements of quality assurance and the steps to develop a quality assurance program in ambulatory care are described in detail.· Some of the key plants are described in more detail below.· These stages are described in more detail in my books First Feelings and Playground Politics.· He described details that had been forgotten.· And he described in detail his hopes for Pantisocracy.
· In this issue, you will find a number of reports from centres describing their own experience of offering the new awards.· She talked to many patients who described near-death experiences, in which they encountered white light and unconditional love.· She wrote a long and moving letter, describing her terrifying experience of being raped whilst on holiday with two friends.· To describe the experience is not easy.· There can be little doubt that Hoccleve is describing his own experience.· At supper that night he tried to describe the experience to Kathy.· How can I describe that experience in just a few words?· One such teacher described her experiences with Ellen.
· Before describing each of the methods in greater detail, one further point can be made about them as a whole.· Walton, using audio clips for illustration, describes some popular methods of representing bird song.· Randi describes their methods in detail, except where some professional magicians' secret would otherwise be exposed.· The methylase assay was performed as described in materials and methods.· It could be described as the Fordist method of international political regulation.· In the next section we will describe a method for finding all efficient tableaux.· The first two volumes describe methods used in microscopy.
· In the chapter on technique the author describes the process of carving a figure from a wood with particular properties.· Some products on supermarket shelves are simply described as pasteurized process cheese product.· All of these functions are composite in the budgetary process, which can be described as a two-stage process.· A more organic metaphor is needed to describe the process of transition.· The first are words which describe the process of listening - hearing, concentration, silence.· And every time I speak, without influencing what I want my audience to think, I describe this process.· Francois Michelin describes this secret process as the equivalent of float-glass making, which transformed the manufacture of sheet glass.· My daughter would describe a process called heredity.
· This report is described at Section 6.· An example of this phase is gigabit networking, described in Section 3. 4. 3.· The most favourable field is in the local government service, which will be described in the next section.· The Problem Report Form is described at Section 3.· All the phenomena to be described under the section Complex Partial Seizures strongly suggest a temporal lobe origin.· They have further suggested two possible extensions which will be described in the next section.· The five-step process is described in the following sections.
· There are many new words to describe eternal responses and situations.· Usually these reports concentrate on prophecies of a forthcoming Armageddon but many also describe a dire contemporary situation.· Certainly it is clear from what Deborah describes that the situation is out of control.· These are particularly useful to describe situations where events occur in parallel or in patterns rather than in a single series.· Lenin described such a situation as revolutionary.· Friends of the Earth has described the situation as scandalous, and called on the National Rivers Authority to prevent further seepage.· To describe the situation fully needs recourse to the clock.
· We will adopt only two terms to describe the major functions of language and emphasise that this division is an analytic convenience.· The extent of the commitment was best seen in the New Look, a term Eisenhower coined to describe his military policy.· Hence a set of terms emerged for describing these different patterns, and this set of terms is still in use today.· This term describes the choreiform disorder that rarely occurs in aged individuals.· The term is used to describe grace periods that often go into effect when new geographic area codes are set up.· This table is based upon interviewees' detailed descriptions of their desired practice, not upon terms they used to describe them.· Downbeat nystagmus is a term used to describe nystagmus with fast-phase beating downward when the eyes are looking forward or down.
· Though I lack words to describe such devilry, I will try.· Put a check in the box beside the word or words that describe the clues you get from the box.· There are many new words to describe eternal responses and situations.· Most of the wordings initially used for trusts in Roman law are words that could be described as precatory.· Too many words trying to describe a small detail or a momentary glance will only destroy the image.· Similarly young children resort to screaming because they can not use words to describe what they want.
VERB· In addition, the coding system used to describe the condition of items was designed to be as simple and unambiguous as possible.· The words people use to describe this event are not the event itself and are only abstracted re-presentations of the event.· The global rating scale was used as described by Jaeschke.· More commonly, the term is now used to describe any really frightening dream.· Batt: The term used to describe a sheet of wadding.· Similarly young children resort to screaming because they can not use words to describe what they want.· Crystallisation Crystallisation is the term used to describe the process by which a floating charge is converted into a normal fixed charge.· What words would you use to describe your emotional characteristics?
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRYPHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
- Chen saw the knife describe an arc through the air and felt himself flinch.
- In that regard, this disc is aptly named.
- It was aptly named the Plough & Harrow.
- The aptly named Honda Accord has been produced in co-operation with Rover.
- The latter was aptly named, so tart that the first gulp curled your lips back.
- The Manor might be aptly described as a spiritual College.
- The Moonlight Restaurant was aptly named.
- The parish was recently founded and aptly named.
- Then it was being run by the aptly named Thomas Mill.
WORD FAMILYadjectivedescribable ≠ indescribablenondescriptdescriptivenoundescriptionverbdescribeadverbdescriptively
1to say what something or someone is like by giving details about them: The police asked her to describe the man. Another approach to the problem is described in Chapter 3.describe somebody/something as (being/having) something After the operation her condition was described as comfortable. The youth is described as being 18 to 19 years old.describe how/why/what etc It’s difficult to describe how I feel.describe somebody/something to somebody So describe this new boyfriend to me!describe doing something He described finding his mother lying on the floor.2describe a circle/an arc etc formal to make a movement which forms the shape of a circle etc: Her hand described a circle in the air.THESAURUSdescribe to talk or write about a person, place, event etc, in order to show what they are like: · Could you try and describe the man you saw?· In her book, she describes her journey across the Sahara.· Police described the attack as particularly violent.tell somebody about somebody/something to describe someone or something to someone. This phrase is more commonly used than describe in everyday spoken English: · So, tell me about your holiday!· My friends have told me all about you!depict formal to describe someone or something in a piece of writing: · His stories depict life in Trinidad as seen through the eyes of a young boy.· In this new biography she is depicted as a lonely and unhappy woman.portray/represent formal to describe someone or something in a particular way: · College teachers are often represented on television shows as slightly eccentric.· The magazine has been criticized for the way it portrays women.· The treatment has been portrayed as a painless way of curing cancer, which is simply not true.· Police have represented her as a willing participant in the crimes.characterize somebody/something as something formal to describe someone or something by emphasizing one particular quality or feature about them: · He characterized himself as ‘an average American’.· The successful schools were characterized as innovative and creative.paint somebody/something as something to describe someone or something, especially in a way that makes people believe something that is not true: · Not all young people are as bad as they’re painted in the press.· We won, yet the media is painting it as a victory for our opponents.· The woman was painted as having only a slight grasp of reality.paint a picture to describe a situation, so that people can get a general idea of what it is like: · Can you paint a picture of life in Japan for us?· My uncle’s letters generally painted a rosy picture of how things were.· The report painted a bleak picture of the management’s failures.