Description definitions and example sentences on Wordnik

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Definitions (15)

American Heritage Dictionary (4)

noun The act, process, or technique of describing.
noun A statement or an account describing something: published a description of the journey; gave a vivid description of the game.
noun A pictorial representation: Monet's ethereal descriptions of haystacks and water lilies.

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Century Dictionary (7)

The act of delineating or depicting; representation by visible lines, marks, colors, etc. The description is either of the earth and water both together, and it is done by circles, or of the water considered by itself; and is not so much a description of that, as of the mariner's course upon it, or to show the way of a ship upon the sea. J. Gregory, Posthuma, p. 257.
The act of representing a thing by words or signs, or the account or writing containing such representation; a statement designed to make known the appearance, nature, attributes, accidents, or incidents of anything: as, a description of a house or of a battle. The seventh species of imperfect definition consists of a coacervation or heaping up of circumstances and common adjuncts. And this is properly a description; although use has now obtained that every imperfect definition be called a description. For example: Man is a two-footed animal uncovered with hair or feathers, of an erect countenance, and endued with hands: which formula of definition is used by historians and poets in the description of persons, facts, places, and the like singular things. Burgersdicius, tr. by a Gentleman. The poet makes a most excellent description of it. Shak., Hen. V., iii. 6. For her own person, It beggar'd all description. Shak., A. and C., ii. 2. Milton has fine descriptions of morning. D. Webster. Firdusi's … great work abounds throughout in bold and animated descriptions, and in certain portions rises to the highest sublimity. N. A. Rev., CXL. 332.
The qualities expressed in a representation; the combination of qualities which go to constitute a class or an individual, and would be mentioned in describing it; hence, a variety; sort; kind. Double six thousand, and treble that, Before a friend of this description Shall lose a hair through Bassanio's fault. Shak., M. of V., iii. 2. The plates were all of the meanest description. Macaulay. He had received from Shelley, as a token of remembrance, the manuscript of three tales. … “They were of a very wild and romantic description,” he adds, “but full of energy.” E. Dowden, Shelley, I. 94. The entertainment is said by the press throughout the country to be of the most interesting description. Washington Chronicle.

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Examples (31)

Earlier this week, we had the chance to sit down with the stars and discovered that the description is accurate. — Entertainment Weekly's PopWatch
One of the CICT programs that fits this description is your "Computer For All" initiative. — Latest News from JAVA Developer's Journal
I have faith in Kirkland that his description was accurate and it will be fantastic!
But, this description is at the same time highly specific and speaks of men as having individually — The Real Truth
Your description is as mouthwatering as the pictures … — WordPress.com News

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kind · account · picture · knowledge · aspect · history · representation · explanation · analysis · style

Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (2)

American Heritage Dictionary (1)

Middle English descripcioun, from Anglo-Norman, from Latin dēscrīptiō, dēscrīptiōn-, from dēscrīptus, past participle of dēscrībere, to write down; see describe.

Century Dictionary (1)

from Middle English description, descripcioun, from Old French description, description, descrition, descrision, French description = Spanish descripcion = Portuguese descripção = Italian descrizione, from Latin descriptio(n-), a marking out, delineation, copy, transcript, representation, description, from describere, past participle descriptus, describe: see describe.

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