delineation

/dɪˌlɪniˈeɪʃn/ (bre, ipa) · /dɪˌlɪniˈeɪʃn/ (ame, ipa) · /di-ˌli-nē-ˈā-shən dē-/ (ame, mw)

delineation — noun

  • delineationsingular
  • delineationsplural

1. a careful and detailed account, picture, or explanation that shows what someone

1.名詞C1
釋義

a careful and detailed account, picture, or explanation that shows what someone or something is really like.

例句

Christopher praised the novelist's vivid delineation of village life in the 1920s.

delineation of + abstract noun phrase

The biography offers a careful delineation of Mira's path from refugee child to surgeon.

careful delineation of + person's life

同義詞
  • depiction

    more general; can be visual or verbal, less formal.

  • portrayal

    emphasises showing character or personality, often artistic.

  • characterization

    narrower; the way a writer presents a person in fiction.

  • account

    neutral, everyday word for a description of events.

反義詞
  • summary

    brief overview rather than careful detailed treatment.

文法句型

delineation of [noun]

用法筆記

Subject is usually a written, spoken, or visual work (book, report, film, painting); object is what is being described. Distinguish from sense 2 by asking whether the focus is the content (a portrait in words or pictures, sense 1) or the act of drawing a line (a boundary, sense 2).

常見錯誤

❌I gave a delineation about my weekend.
✅I gave an account of my weekend.
💡'delineation' is formal and suggests careful, detailed portrayal, not casual recounting.
❌The book's delineation was 300 pages.
✅The book offered a 300-page delineation of village life.
💡needs an object phrase (delineation OF something).

2. the act of drawing or stating exactly where a boundary, area, or limit lies.

2.名詞C1
釋義

the act of drawing or stating exactly where a boundary, area, or limit lies.

例句

Surveyors finished the delineation of the new national park in early spring.

delineation of + geographic area

Inês argued that the delineation of the school district was unfair to poorer families.

delineation of + administrative zone

同義詞
  • demarcation

    very close synonym; even more strongly focused on a physical boundary line.

  • definition

    more abstract; the act of stating limits without necessarily drawing them.

  • boundary

    the line itself, not the act of setting it.

反義詞
  • merging

    combining things rather than separating them by a line.

文法句型

delineation of [boundary noun]

delineation between X and Y

用法筆記

Object is typically a boundary, area, role, or category (park, district, duty, line). Common in legal, geographic, and organisational contexts. Distinguish from sense 1 by asking whether the focus is showing what something is like (sense 1) or showing where it ends (this sense).

常見錯誤

❌They drew a delineation on the map.
✅They marked a boundary on the map.' or ✅ 'The map shows the delineation of the protected area.
💡you do not 'draw a delineation'; the word names the act or its result, not a single line you draw.
❌The delineation between right and wrong is easy.
✅The line between right and wrong is easy to draw.
💡'delineation' suits concrete or institutional boundaries (land, roles, departments) more than moral ones.