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  1. delineate love

Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. v. To draw or trace the outline of; sketch out.
  2. v. To represent pictorially; depict.
  3. v. To depict in words or gestures; describe. See Synonyms at represent.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. To exhibit or mark out in lines; sketch or represent in outline: as, to delineate the form of earth or a diagram.
  2. To represent pictorially; draw a likeness of; portray; depict.
  3. To describe; represent to the mind or understanding; exhibit it likeness of in words: as, to delineate character.

Wiktionary

  1. v. To sketch out, draw or trace an outline.
  2. v. To depict, represent with pictures.
  3. v. To describe or depict with words or gestures.
  4. v. To outline or mark out.

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. adj. rare Delineated; portrayed.
  2. v. To indicate by lines drawn in the form or figure of; to represent by sketch, design, or diagram; to sketch out; to portray; to picture; in drawing and engraving, to represent in lines, as with the pen, pencil, or graver; hence, to represent with accuracy and minuteness. See delineation.
  3. v. To portray to the mind or understanding by words; to set forth; to describe.

WordNet 3.0

  1. adj. represented accurately or precisely
  2. v. make a mark or lines on a surface
  3. v. describe in vivid detail
  4. v. show the form or outline of
  5. v. determine the essential quality of
  6. v. trace the shape of

Etymologies

  1. From Latin delineatus, past participle of dēlīneo ("to sketch out, to delineate"), from de- + līnea ("line") (Wiktionary)
  2. Latin dēlīneāre, dēlīneāt- : dē-, de- + līnea, line, thread; see line1. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)

Examples

  • “The inability to see is an inability to "delineate": a persistent equation in the novel ( "Over him hung a form which I cannot find words to describe," Walton says [152]).”

    _Frankenstein_'s Cinematic Dream

  • “Professor has finished measuring, and is preparing to "delineate" me.”

    Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 93, September 24, 1887

  • “So the first order of business at the Trial of Barack Obama was to "delineate" (I think he just meant "delete") the most explosive charges -- treason and sedition -- from the indictment.”

    News & Politics

  • “Canada's laws also seem to "delineate" medical quackery and fraud somewhat differently from those in the United States.”

    Latest Articles

  • “That's because the DOT will better "delineate" crosswalks.”

    New Haven Independent

  • “The other two pads Orion proposes would "delineate" where the company might have economic production of natural gas in the area, Harris said.”

    Glenwood Springs Post Independent - Top Stories

  • “Elsewhere I have discussed the importance and volatility of the figure of the body in aesthetic discourse (see Redfield, ch. 2); for present purposes it will suffice to note the emphatically aesthetic vocabulary with which Victor seeks to "delineate" his creature’s monstrosity.”

    _Frankenstein_'s Cinematic Dream

  • “Tallies of living languages differ widely depending on how evaluators delineate one language from another.”

    Simon & Schuster: The English Is Coming!

  • “Although it depicts an entire hemisphere of the smallest planet, shadows delineate many of the features and would not, of course, be visible if this were a true "full Mercury" view taken from the direction of the Sun.”

    The Guardian: Starwatch: Mercury in view

  • “It floats in a state of apparent anti gravity, capturing its light within to graphically delineate a structural net as a soft external shadow of itself.”

    Lamp in a Bulb

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synonyms (3)

Words with the same meaning

  1. delineated
  1. portrayed
  1. describe

equivalents (6)

Other words for ‘delineate’

  1. diagrammatic
  1. diagrammatical
  1. portrayed
  1. pictured
  1. depicted
  1. described

hypernyms (4)

Words that are more generic or abstract

  1. draw
  1. depict
  1. describe
  1. show

reverse dictionary (50)

Words that contain this word in their definition

  1. inscribe
  2. delineate
  3. etch
  4. exaggerate
  5. enchase
  6. draft
  7. line
  8. lineate
  9. defigure
  10. deline
  1. depaint
  2. exiconize
  3. coal
  4. chart
  5. grave
  6. delineative
  7. tract
  8. blazon
  9. outline
  10. profile-board
  1. roughdraw
  2. deform
  3. descriptively
  4. landscape
  5. limn
  6. describe
  7. design
  8. draw
  9. faint-draw
  10. trace
  1. define
  2. prick
  3. map
  4. island
  5. map out
  6. paint
  7. picture
  8. plot
  9. project
  10. represent
  1. table
  2. take
  3. touch
  4. trick
  5. decipher
  6. depict
  7. lay
  8. plan
  9. portray
  10. survey

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Comments

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  • seanahan It seems like this word should mean to remove the lines that separate things, and lineate should mean to make draw those lines. Sep 2, 2007

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‘delineate’ has been looked up 5033 times, loved by 13 people, added to 84 lists, commented on 1 time, and has a Scrabble score of 10.