— describable , adj. — describability , n. — describably , adv. — describer , n.
/di skruyb"/ , v.t., described, describing .
1. to tell or depict in written or spoken words; give an account of: He described the accident very carefully.
2. to pronounce, as by a designating term, phrase, or the like; label: There are few people who may be described as geniuses.
3. to indicate; be a sign of; denote: Conceit, in many cases, describes a state of serious emotional insecurity.
4. to represent or delineate by a picture or figure.
5. Geom. to draw or trace the outline of: to describe an arc.
[ 1400-50; late ME describen describere, equiv. to de- DE- + scribere to write ]
Syn. 1. portray, characterize, represent; recount, tell, relate. DESCRIBE, NARRATE agree in the idea of giving an account of something. To DESCRIBE is to convey in words the appearance, nature, attributes, etc., of something. The word often implies vividness of personal observation: to describe a scene, an event. To NARRATE is to recount the occurrence of something, usually by giving the details of an event or events in the order of their happening. NARRATE thus applies only to that which happens in time: to narrate an incident.