DESCRIBE1 to describe someone or something2 to describe someone or something in a way that shows your opinion3 a written or spoken descriptionRELATED WORDSsee alsoDETAILTELLWRITE1 to describe someone or something 描述某人或某物describe /dɪˈskraɪb/ [transitive verb]to talk or write about a person, place, event etc, saying what they are like and giving details about them 描述，描写；描绘；形容 Could you try and describe the man you saw? 你能试着描述一下你看见的那个人的样子吗？ In her book, she describes her journey across the Sahara. 她在书中描述了自己横越撒哈拉沙漠之旅。describe somebody/something as Police described the attack as particularly violent. 警方说这次袭击特别暴力。describe somebody/something to somebody I tried to describe the feeling to my doctor, but she didn't understand. 我想把那种感觉说给医生听，可她不能理解。describe how/what It's difficult to describe how I felt. 很难说清楚我的感受。give a description of /ˌgɪv ə dɪˈskrɪpʃən ɒv/ [verb phrase]to describe someone or something, especially by giving details about what they look like 描述，形容 King gave a detailed description of a dark-haired muscular man to police. 金向警方详细描述了一名黑发、肌肉发达的男子的情况。 The brochure gives a general description of the island and some of the things you can do there. 这本小册子大致地描述了这个岛，并介绍了你在那里可以做的一些事。talk about /ˈtɔːk əbaʊt/ [transitive phrasal verb]to describe something that you have seen or experienced by talking to people about it 讲述〔见闻或经历〕 Grandma always talks about the way they used to live on the farm. 祖母老是讲起他们以前住在农场上的生活方式。 You should talk about your problems with someone - maybe they can help you. 你应该和别人谈谈你的问题，也许他们能帮助你。write about /ˈraɪt əbaʊt/ [transitive phrasal verb]to describe a person, place, event, situation etc by writing about it 描述，记述〔某人、某地、活动、情况等〕 Have the children write about what they did last summer. 让孩子们记述一下他们去年夏天做了些什么。 Purcell wrote about his son's illness for a popular magazine. 珀赛尔为一本通俗杂志写了有关他儿子病情的文章。what somebody/something is like /wɒt somebody/something ɪz ˈlaɪk/spokenuse this when you are asking someone to describe someone or something to you or when you are describing someone or something to them 【口】某人/某事的情况是如何的 ‘I've just met Anna's new boyfriend.’ ‘What's he like?’ “我刚遇见了安娜的新男朋友。”“他是什么样子的?” I'll try and explain to you what being in prison was like. 我尽量跟你描述一下坐牢是怎么一种滋味。give an account of /ˌgɪv ən əˈkaʊnt ɒv/ [verb phrase]to describe something that happened, giving only the facts and not adding your own feelings or opinions 〔客观地〕记述，描述 Please give a brief account of your previous work experience. 请简要说一下你以前的工作经历。 The second witness gave a similar account of what happened. 第二位证人对所发生的情况作了相似的描述。tell of /ˈtel ɒv/ [transitive phrasal verb]writtento describe an event, situation etc, especially as though it was a story, in order to make it sound more exciting or impressive 【书面】〔生动地〕讲述，述说〔活动、情况等〕 Many of the prisoners have told of the terrible conditions they were kept in and how they were beaten. 许多囚犯讲述了他们牢房的恶劣条件以及被殴打的情形。tell somebody of In the evenings Morris would tell us of his youth spent in Europe. 到了晚上，莫里斯就会向我们讲述他青年时代在欧洲的事情。2 to describe someone or something in a way that shows your opinion 以表达自己观点的方式描述某人或某物describe something/somebody as /dɪˈskraɪb something/somebody æz/ [verb phrase]to describe someone or something in a particular way that shows your opinion of them 把某事物/某人说成 I wouldn't describe the job as boring, just a little repetitive sometimes. 我不想说这工作无聊，只是有时有点千篇一律。 John describes himself as the intelligent but shy type. 约翰称自己是那种聪明但腼腆的人。 De la Cruz is described as Mexico's greatest woman poet. 德·拉·克鲁兹被称为墨西哥最伟大的女诗人。characterize somebody/something as /ˈkærɪktəraɪz , ˈkærəktəraɪz somebody/something æz/ [verb phrase]to describe the character of someone or something in a particular way, especially with the result that people believe it to be true when it may not be 把某人/某物说成是〔描述为〕 A reporter characterized Mrs. Clinton as the most controversial first lady in modern history. 一名记者把克林顿夫人说成是现代历史上最具争议的第一夫人。 She grew up in a small Wisconsin community which she characterizes as conservative. 她在威斯康星州的一个小社区内长大，她称这个小社区的居民思想保守。label /ˈleɪbəl/ [transitive verb]to describe someone or something in a negative way, especially incorrectly or unfairly 〔负面地，尤不正确或不公正地〕，描述〔某人或某事〕 Children who are labelled ‘slow’ usually get less attention from teachers. 那些被形容为“迟钝”的儿童通常较少受到教师的关注。 Critics have unfairly labelled Young a racist. 批评者们不公正地把扬称作种族主义者。label somebody/something as Campbell has labelled the commission's recommendations as sheer nonsense. 坎贝尔说委员会的建议完全是胡闹。portray/represent /pɔːʳˈtreɪ, ˌreprɪˈzent/ [transitive verb]formalto describe someone or something in a particular way, especially in a way that makes people have an untrue idea of what they are like 【正式】描绘，刻划〔尤指使人产生坏印象〕 The magazine has been criticized for the way it portrays women. 这本杂志因对妇女妄加评论而受到抨击。portray/represent somebody/something as The treatment has been portrayed as a painless way of curing cancer, which is untrue. 这种疗法被说成是一种无痛的癌症治疗方法，这并不属实。 Police have represented her as a willing participant in the crimes. 警方称她是完全自愿参与这些罪行的。depict /dɪˈpɪkt/ [transitive verb]to describe someone or something, especially in writing, by providing a lot of details which give a very true idea of what they are like 〔尤以书面方式真实而详细地〕描写，描述 His stories depict life in Trinidad as seen through the eyes of a young boy. 他的故事通过一个小男孩的眼光描写了在特立尼达的生活。depict somebody/something as In this new biography she is depicted as a lonely and unhappy woman. 在这本新的传记里，她被描写为一位孤独的、不快乐的女子。paint a picture /ˌpeɪnt ə ˈpɪktʃəʳ/ [verb phrase]paint a bleak/grim/rosy etc pictureto describe in a very pleasant or very unpleasant way, which may be very different from the truth 将…描绘得黯淡/严峻/美好等〔常与事实很不同〕paint a picture of My uncle's letters generally painted a rosy picture of how things were. 我叔叔的来信一般都把情况写得很美好。 He went on to paint a discouraging picture of the problems facing the state. 他继续描绘出该国所面临的令人沮丧的问题。3 a written or spoken description 描写；叙述description /dɪˈskrɪpʃən/ [countable noun]what you say or write when you are describing a person, place, or thing 描写；叙述description of Write a description of someone you know well. 描写一下某个你所熟悉的人。give somebody a description Tom gave the police a description of his car. 汤姆向警方描述了他汽车的特征。a full/detailed descriptioncontaining all the important details 完整/详细的描述 You can read a detailed description of the products on their Web site. 你可以在他们的网站上读到产品的详细介绍。report /rɪˈpɔːʳt/ [countable noun]a description of a situation or event, based on a study of the facts, that provides people with information about it and also tries to explain it 〔对情况或活动的〕报告；报道 The report is based on visits to schools in five cities. 这篇报道是根据对五个城市的学校的走访写成的。report on Amnesty International released another report on the government's use of torture. 大赦国际发布了另一份有关该政府使用刑讯手段的报告。newspaper/news/television report News reports suggest that over 300 people may have died. 新闻报道说可能已有三百多人死亡。account /əˈkaʊnt/ [countable noun]a written or spoken description of something that happened 〔客观的〕叙述，描写account of The newspaper printed a detailed account of the trial. 该报刊出了一篇对此案审理情况的详细叙述。give an account In the magazine, Cook gives a colorful account of his first meeting with Hamilton. 在杂志上，库克对他与汉密尔顿的首次会面作了精彩有趣的叙述。commentary /ˈkɒməntəriǁˈkɑːmənteri/ [countable noun]a spoken description of an event such as a race or sports event which is given while it is happening, especially on the radio or television 〔尤指电台或电视对比赛或体育项目的〕实况报道，解说 Joe Garagiola will provide the commentary tonight on Channel 7. 乔·加乔拉今晚将在七频道作实况解说。commentary on Now let's go over to our London studio for commentary on the wrestling. 现在我们将镜头转到我们在伦敦的转播室，收看摔跤比赛的实况解说。running commentarya continuous commentary all the time that something is happening 〔对某一事件进行的〕连续报道 Sarah was looking out the window and giving us a running commentary on what was happening in the street. 萨拉一边看着窗外，一边不断地告诉我们街上正在发生的事情。portrayal /pɔːʳˈtreɪəl/ [countable noun]a description of a person, thing, place etc that deliberately chooses particular details about them in order to make people form a particular opinion about them, especially a bad opinion 〔故意从某些细节出发的，尤指使人产生坏印象的〕描述，描绘portrayal of Many have criticized Hollywood for its unrealistic portrayal of life in America. 许多人批评好莱坞对美国生活不切实际的描述。portrayal of somebody/something as I cannot accept the article's portrayal of these men as bloodthirsty terrorists. 我不能接受那篇文章把这些人描写成嗜杀成性的恐怖分子。descriptive /dɪˈskrɪptɪv/ [adjective]a piece of writing that isdescriptive contains a lot of details describing what someone or something is like, rather than telling a story or describing events 描写的，记述的；叙述性的，说明性的 The book contains many fine descriptive passages about everyday life in China. 本书中有许多描写中国人日常生活的精彩段落。 When you write your paragraph, include as many descriptive details as possible. 在写段落时，尽量多写一些叙述性的细节。profile /ˈprəʊfaɪl/ [countable noun]a short description of someone's life, work, and character, especially of someone famous, that is written in a newspaper, shown on television etc 〔尤指在报上刊登或电视中播放的名人的〕传略，人物简介profile of Every week the magazine presents the profile of a well-known sports personality. 该杂志每周都刊登一位体育明星的传略。 I heard a fascinating profile of Madeleine Albright on the radio yesterday. 昨天我在电台中听到了马德琳·奥尔布赖特的精彩传略。