Meanings
present singular third person delineates · participle present delineating · participle past delineated · past delineated
- To sketch out, draw or trace an outline.
Bellmark delineated the space and began to dig. After clearing to about a foot deep he paused.
1914, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], Max Carrados - To describe or depict with words or gestures.
comparative more delineate · superlative most delineate
- obsoleteDelineated, sketched out.
That forme which […] is delineate in the planispheare
1619, John Bainbridge, An astronomicall description of the late comet from the 18. of Nouemb. 1618. to the 16. of December following - obsoleteSketched out, portrayed, described, defined.
ſtill do I ſee in Him delineate his mother's viſage.
1596, [attributed to William Shakespeare; Thomas Kyd], The Raigne of King Edward the Third: […], London: […] [T. Scarlet] for Cuthbert Burby, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii]
Synonyms & antonyms
More synonyms by meaning
adjectiverepresented accurately or precisely
verbdetermine the essential quality of
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latindēlīneātus
- Englishdelineate
First attested in 1559; borrowed from Latin dēlīneātus, perfect passive participle of dēlīneo (“to sketch out, to delineate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from dē- + līnea (“line”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix). Regular participial usage of the adjective up until Early Modern English.
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian очертавам, скицирам
- очертавам (očertavam)sketch out, draw or trace an outline
- скицирам (skiciram)depict, represent with pictures
- обрисувам (obrisuvam)describe or depict with words or gestures
Catalan delinear, traçar
- delinearsketch out, draw or trace an outline
- traçardepict, represent with pictures
- descriuredescribe or depict with words or gestures
Dutch afbakenen, uiteenzetten
- afbakenensketch out, draw or trace an outline
- uiteenzettendescribe or depict with words or gestures
- schilderendescribe or depict with words or gestures
Finnish hahmotella, kuvata
- hahmotellasketch out, draw or trace an outline
- kuvatadepict, represent with pictures
- kuvailladescribe or depict with words or gestures
- rajataoutline or mark out
French délinéer, décrire
- délinéersketch out, draw or trace an outline
- décriredescribe or depict with words or gestures
German umreißen, skizzieren
- umreißensketch out, draw or trace an outline
- skizzierensketch out, draw or trace an outline
- skizzierendepict, represent with pictures
- schilderndescribe or depict with words or gestures
- abgrenzenoutline or mark out
Irish dreach, ríomh
- dreachdepict, represent with pictures
- ríomhdescribe or depict with words or gestures
Italian delineare
- delinearesketch out, draw or trace an outline
Portuguese delinear
- delinearsketch out, draw or trace an outline
Romanian schița, contura
- schițasketch out, draw or trace an outline
- conturasketch out, draw or trace an outline
Spanish delinear
- delinearsketch out, draw or trace an outline
Swedish skissera
- skisserasketch out, draw or trace an outline
Turkish resmetmek, betimlemek
- resmetmekdepict, represent with pictures
- betimlemekdescribe or depict with words or gestures
- tasvir etmekdescribe or depict with words or gestures
- tarif etmekdescribe or depict with words or gestures
Cite this entry
delineate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/delineate
“delineate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/delineate. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “delineate,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/delineate.
Source: delineate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.