depiction

noun

de·​pic·​tion di-ˈpik-shən 

dē-

plural depictions

: a representation in words or images of someone or something

The book is fascinating in its depiction of the country's early history.

The first part of the book … is a depiction of the nearly lost world of a North American hunter-gatherer community.

—Timothy Egan

The late Vermont artist Stephen Huneck made works that are instantly recognizable—bright, accessible, folky depictions of dogs enjoying themselves.

—James Heflin

By comparison with the depiction of domesticity in such 1950s staples as The Donna Reed Show and Ozzie and Harriet, the portrait of family life on The Dick Van Dyke Show, the emblematic sitcom of the early 1960s, seemed staggering in its sheer smartness and casual elegance.

—Bruce Bawer

Synonyms

• definition
• delineation
• description
• picture
• portrait
• portraiture
• portrayal
• rendering
• sketch
• vignette

Examples of depiction in a Sentence

the set piece of the novel is a depiction of the battle that makes readers feel like they were there

Recent Examples on the Web

Nonetheless, viewing a depiction of business value and technical value on X and Y axes portrays a more integrative approach to enterprise storage. —Eric Herzog, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024

This small house contained a number of sensual, mythic depictions. —Jacqui Palumbo, CNN, 12 Dec. 2024

Beneath the absurdity of the premise is a depiction of how much self-sacrifice motherhood can require. —Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, The Week Us, theweek, 6 Dec. 2024

The content itself is deep; the Compton act asks for the Lord’s guidance through all of his struggles, which is a meta depiction of his career. —Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 6 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1688, in the meaning defined above