Читаем Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary полностью

relate:She related her tale of living rough.

report:I reported the theft to the police.

explain:I explained that each person has different ideas of what freedom is.

define:He was asked to define his concept of cool.

detail:The report detailed the human rights abuses committed during the war.

de|scrip|tion ◆◇◇ /d I skr I pʃ ^ə n/ (descriptions )

1 N‑VAR A description of someone or something is an account which explains what they are or what they look like. □ [+ of ] Police have issued a description of the man who was aged between fifty and sixty. □  He has a real gift for vivid description.

2 N‑SING If something is of a particular description , it belongs to the general class of items that are mentioned. □  Events of this description occurred daily.

3 N‑UNCOUNT You can say that something is beyond description , or that it defies description , to emphasize that it is very unusual, impressive, terrible, or extreme. [EMPHASIS ] □  His face is weary beyond description. SYNONYMS description NOUN 1

account:He gave a detailed account of what happened on the fateful night.

report:She came back to give us a progress report on how the project is going.

explanation:There was a hint of schoolboy shyness in his explanation.

profile:A newspaper published profiles of the candidates' wives.

sketch:I had a basic sketch of a plan.

de|scrip|tive /d I skr I pt I v/ ADJ Descriptive language or writing indicates what someone or something is like. □  …his descriptive way of writing.

des|ecrate /de s I kre I t/ (desecrates , desecrating , desecrated ) VERB If someone desecrates something which is considered to be holy or very special, they deliberately damage or insult it. □ [V n] She shouldn't have desecrated the picture of a religious leader. ●  des|ecra|tion /de s I kre I ʃ ^ə n/ N‑UNCOUNT □ [+ of ] The whole area has been shocked by the desecration of the cemetery.

de|seed /diː siː d/ (deseeds , deseeding , deseeded ) also de-seed VERB To deseed a fruit or vegetable means to remove all the seeds from it. [BRIT ] □ [V n] Halve and deseed the peppers.

de|seg|re|gate /diː se gr I ge I t/ (desegregates , desegregating , desegregated ) VERB To desegregate something such as a place, institution, or service means to officially stop keeping the people who use it in separate groups, especially groups that are defined by race. □ [V n] …efforts to desegregate sport. □ [V -ed] The school system itself is not totally desegregated. ●  de|seg|re|ga|tion /diː se grəge I ʃ ^ə n/ N‑UNCOUNT □  Desegregation may be harder to enforce in rural areas.

de|sen|si|tize /diː se ns I ta I z/ (desensitizes , desensitizing , desensitized ) in BRIT, also use desensitise VERB To desensitize someone to things such as pain, anxiety, or other people's suffering, means to cause them to react less strongly to them. □ [V n + to ] …the language that is used to desensitize us to the terrible reality of war. [Also V n]

des|ert ◆◇◇ (deserts , deserting , deserted ) The noun is pronounced /de zə ^r t/. The verb is pronounced /d I zɜː ^r t/ and is hyphenated de|sert. 1 N‑VAR [oft in names] A desert is a large area of land, usually in a hot region, where there is almost no water, rain, trees, or plants. □  …the Sahara Desert. □  …the burning desert sun.