descry

[ dih-skrahy ]

verb (used with object)

, de·scried, de·scry·ing.

1. to see (something unclear or distant) by looking carefully; discern; espy:

   The lookout descried land.

   Synonyms: notice

2. to discover; ascertain; detect.

descry

/ dɪˈskraɪ /

verb

1. to discern or make out; catch sight of
2. to discover by looking carefully; detect

Derived Forms

• deˈscrier, noun

Other Words From

• de·scrier noun
• unde·scried adjective
• unde·scrying adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of descry¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English descrien, from Old French de(s)crïer “to proclaim, decry”; dis- ¹, cry

Word History and Origins

Origin of descry¹

C14: from Old French descrier to proclaim, decry

Example Sentences

“Since sunrise I have been turning my spy glass in every direction,” she wrote to her sister in a long letter begun the night before, “watching with unwearied anxiety, hoping to discern the approach of my dear husband and his friends; but, alas, I can descry only groups of military wandering in all directions, as if there was a lack of arms, or of spirit to fight for their own firesides!”

From Literature

In ancient Egypt, seekers after spiritual guidance could spend a night in incubation, which was a special institutionalised sleep undertaken in the temples of the gods precisely in order to descry meaning in the dark.

From The Guardian

The reader is similarly invited to descry herself in Chung’s story—to conceive of herself as a kindred spirit.

From The New Yorker

Ideally, just putting our research out there should be enough for people to descry our brilliance and promote it accordingly.

From Nature

We stood side by side there in the near-dark; I could descry the fear in his eyes, the discomfort in the mouth.

From Literature