depiction
Americannoun
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representation in image form, as in a painting or illustration.
Picasso's painting Guernica is an accurate depiction of the horrors of war.
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representation or characterization in words.
Mark Twain's letters are a clear depiction of his life and times.
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an act or instance of depicting.
Etymology
Origin of depiction
First recorded in 1625–35; from Latin dēpictiōn-, stem of dēpictiō “portrayal,” equivalent to dēpict(us), past participle of dēpingere “to portray” + -iō -ion ( def. )
Explanation
A depiction is a true representation of something, like the depiction of life as a Jewish teenager in hiding during World War II in Anne Frank's "The Diary of a Young Girl." The word depiction comes from the Latin word for "painting or description," depictionem. If a portrait really looks like you, it's a good depiction — the painter or photographer has done a great job. Another way to give a depiction of an experience is to tell or write about it in so much detail that it's like your audience is really there. Actors who portray real people work hard to make their depictions as true as they can.
Vocabulary lists containing depiction
Content Summary G.1: Principles of Geography
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The Freedom Writers Diary
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"Simon's Saga," Vocabulary from Episode 19
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
While Fraser delivers an external performance as the tough American general, Scott offers a restrained, mostly tamped-down depiction of the repressed and methodical Stagg.
From Los Angeles Times • May 29, 2026
Brendan Fraser and Andrew Scott are fire and ice in this depiction of the run-up to D-day, a secret operation that required total commitment — and no rain.
From Los Angeles Times • May 29, 2026
He loved the depiction and agreed with it completely.
From BBC • May 17, 2026
Hepting, who has since retired from her post at the county, disputed Simasko’s depiction of her motivations in a message to ProPublica.
From Salon • Apr. 27, 2026
The Paris newspaper Excelsior even ran a comic-strip-like depiction of Perugia’s account—a how-he-did-it illustration of the theft.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
