describes

verb

present tense third-person singular of describe
1
as in depicts
to give a representation or account of in words he tried to describe the dream he had last night as accurately as he could

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in tells
to give an oral or written account of in some detail a biography of Washington that describes the decisive Battle of Yorktown at great length

Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in characterizes
to point out the chief quality or qualities of an individual or group how would you describe the Inupiat people you encountered in Alaska?

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of describes The company describes this combination as soft embodied intelligence. — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 15 Aug. 2026 Sivan describes the anecdotes in the song as a collage of, and love letter inspired by, several women in his personal life. — Leah Lu, Rolling Stone, 14 Aug. 2026 For one of the men in particular, the type of hustling, defiant gay life that John Rechy describes in his nonfiction book The Sexual Outlaw is pivotal. — Emma Sarappo, The Atlantic, 14 Aug. 2026 The company describes it as the world's first hands-free touchpad. — Jesse Watson , Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 14 Aug. 2026 The permit describes a 488,628 square-foot 196 megawatt data center with an address of 9720 Team Rockbrook Parkway. — Emily Holshouser august 14, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Aug. 2026 As part of his sentence, Zhou must also attend a batterer’s intervention program and a program called Beachside, which describes itself as a luxury in-patient mental health and rehab center in West Palm Beach, according to its website. — Shira Moolten, Sun Sentinel, 14 Aug. 2026 The phrase describes a common, temporary condition that research shows affects about 80% of people who give birth. — Jen Christensen, CNN Money, 13 Aug. 2026 Social isolation describes the number and frequency of a person’s social contacts. — The Conversation Us, Scientific American, 8 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for describes
  1. depicts
  2. tells
  3. characterizes
  4. portrays
  5. recounts
  6. defines
  7. illustrates
  8. relates
Verb
  • It’s supposed to be set in a well-trodden, fun neighborhood, but not in one that depicts huge wealth.
    — Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 15 Aug. 2026
  • The film also depicts Gorbachev as something of a drama queen during the meetings, slamming the table and raising his voice.
    — Tom Nichols, The Atlantic, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of depicts
Verb
  • At the same time, the film tells a true story that powerfully illustrates how indispensable investigative journalism is in uncovering historical crimes.
    — Leo Barraclough, Variety, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Meanwhile, the Harford County Humane Society tells CBS News Baltimore there have been 140 owner surrenders through the county's animal control this summer, which is double last summer's total.
    — Tara Lynch, CBS News, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of tells
Verb
  • Lou Reed modeled the sort of petulant sing-talking that characterizes her verses.
    — Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 30 July 2026
  • Strada’s website characterizes the candidate as a successful businessman.
    — Annie Martin, The Orlando Sentinel, 17 July 2026
Definition of characterizes
Verb
  • Branka Katić as Raisa Gorbachev Branka Katić portrays Raisa Gorbachev in The Brink of War.
    — Samantha Stutsman, PEOPLE, 15 Aug. 2026
  • Ryding is Luca Haas, Jalees is Farah Jalali, and Priyanka portrays Tarek.
    — Denise Petski, Deadline, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of portrays
Verb
  • In the book, Finch recounts how a tumultuous childhood at the hands of an abusive adoptive mom led her to want to escape her homelife.
    — Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 18 Aug. 2026
  • The latter recounts his travels to the island of Utopia and outlines its customs, which contrast sharply with common practice in England.
    — Carline Tromp, The Dial, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of recounts
Verb
  • The overarching curiosity, though, will be how this defines a key relationship for the club.
    — Spencer Nusbaum, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2026
  • That means an operating model that defines who owns AI outcomes, how decisions get made and how successful use cases move from one corner of the business into the enterprise.
    — Patrick Pugh, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of defines
Verb
  • This illustrates how far the Eagles have come at the position under Fangio.
    — Zach Berman, New York Times, 16 Aug. 2026
  • The story of sardines feeding Japan’s war machine illustrates the convergence of technology, environment and imperialism.
    — Pei-Hsu Lin, The Conversation, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of illustrates
Verb
  • Each and every item relates in some way to the novel’s storyline, yet miraculously, many of the objects were sourced before the book was even written.
    — CNT Editors, Condé Nast Traveler, 9 Aug. 2026
  • Holland’s Spider-Man relates more personally to everyone — friends and foes — than any other superhero; his scenes with the Punisher (Jon Bernthal), Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), Det.
    — Culture Critic, Los Angeles Times, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of relates

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Cite this Entry

“Describes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/describes. Accessed 21 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of describes for Spanish Speakers

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