delineation

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

delineation — 名詞

  • delineationsingular
  • delineationsplural

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

1.名詞C1
釋義

細緻刻畫

對人事物的詳細描寫或刻畫

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.

Christopher 稱讚這位小說家對 1920 年代鄉村生活的生動細緻描繪。

delineation of + abstract noun phrase

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

這本傳記細緻刻畫了 Mira 從難民兒童成為外科醫師的歷程。

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

界線劃定

明確劃出疆界、區域或職責範圍

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.

測量員在初春完成了這座新國家公園的界線劃定。

delineation of + geographic area

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

Inês 主張這次學區的劃分對較貧困的家庭並不公平。

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.