A writer can describe a harbor at dawn, and depict or portray will usually stand in when the telling is vivid or slanted. The same verb also appears in describe her as stubborn, where characterize or call fits, and in geometry and physics, where a compass or a pendulum describes an arc and trace is the plain swap. Recount can't label anyone, and no pendulum ever portrays an arc.
Best synonyms for describe
Tell what something is like
- depict
- portray
- recount
- outline
- detail
- narrate
- relate
- sketch
Label a person or thing
- characterize
- call
- label
- dub
- term
- brand
Trace a line or shape
- trace
- draw
- delineate
- mark out
Which synonym should you use?
| If you mean… | Best alternatives |
|---|---|
| telling what happened, in order | recount, narrate, relate |
| painting a scene in vivid words | depict, portray |
| giving only the main points | outline, sketch |
| listing every specific | detail |
| naming someone's defining trait | characterize |
| attaching a name or label to someone | call, label, dub, term |
| pinning a damaging label on someone | brand |
| a moving object makes a curve | trace, draw |
Describe synonyms explained
1. Depict
Puts a person, scene or event into words or images, usually with visible detail. It can stay neutral, where portray hints at an interpretation or angle.
Best used when: You are saying what a book, film or painting shows.
The novel depicts a fishing village in the years after the mill closed.
2. Portray
Presents someone or something in a particular light, so the maker's angle shows more than with depict. It is the usual verb for actors, authors and news coverage.
Best used when: The account has a slant, or an actor plays a role.
The memoir portrays her father as generous but impossible to please.
3. Recount
Tells events in the order they happened, and it needs an object: you recount a story or incident, then add to plus the listener. It sounds less like a performance than narrate.
Best used when: A witness or traveler goes back over what took place.
Correct: He recounted the argument to the police in careful detail.
Incorrect: She recounted me the whole story.
Recount cannot be followed directly by the listener. Put the story first and the person after to: She recounted the whole story to me.
4. Narrate
Where recount can be a plain report of events, narrate is a storyteller's act: one continuous account, often delivered aloud or as a voice-over.
Best used when: A voice carries a documentary, audiobook or long tale.
A retired actor narrates the documentary and fills in the missing years.
5. Outline
The opposite of detail: only the main points, with the specifics left out. It is a little firmer and more organized than sketch.
Best used when: You are presenting a plan or argument in broad strokes.
She outlined the plan in two minutes before taking questions.
6. Sketch
Looser than outline, it gives a quick, rough account, often spoken rather than written, and leaves gaps for the listener to fill.
Best used when: You are giving directions or an idea in a few quick lines.
He sketched the route for us: left at the bridge, then straight to the lake.
7. Detail
As a verb, it lists the specifics one by one and takes a direct object. It is written and formal, and it is the full counterpart to outline.
Best used when: A report or letter needs to spell out every item.
The audit detailed every payment made to the contractor.
8. Characterize
Followed by as, not to be, this verb sums up a person or thing by naming its defining trait.
Best used when: You are summing someone up by one quality.
Correct: Colleagues characterize her as relentless but fair.
Incorrect: Colleagues characterize her to be relentless.
Characterize takes as before the trait, not to be: Colleagues characterize her as relentless.
9. Dub
Used mostly for nicknames, often ones that spread through the media, dub puts the label straight after the object with no as, which sets it apart from characterize.
Best used when: A name catches on for an event, person or product.
Reporters dubbed the heat wave the Great Melt.
10. Brand
Much harsher than call: to brand someone a traitor is to attach a damaging label and imply it is unfair or hard to shake.
Best used when: Someone is publicly stuck with a bad reputation.
Critics branded the proposal a giveaway to developers.
11. Trace
Unlike draw, trace can follow a path that already exists, such as a coastline or a comet's orbit, as well as mark out a new line or curve.
Best used when: A moving object or a pen follows a visible path.
The comet traces a long ellipse across the night sky.
12. Delineate
In formal and technical writing, delineate marks the exact boundary of a shape or area. It is a heavier, more precise choice than mark out.
Best used when: A survey, map or contract needs precise limits.
The surveyor delineated the property line with orange flags.
FAQ
Can you say "describe me the house"?
No. Describe takes the thing described as its object and puts the listener after to: describe the house to me. In casual speech, tell me about the house is the easy alternative.
Is describing the same as explaining?
No. Describe says what something is like or what happened, while explain says why or how. A description of a broken engine mentions the noise and the smoke; an explanation names the cause.