Description

Description is the act or result of conveying the characteristics or qualities of something, whether through speech, writing, or another representation. It aims to make an object, event, person, or concept recognizable and understandable by detailing its properties, such as appearance, structure, function, or behavior. Descriptions can be observational, derived from senses, or analytical, organized around categories, measurements, or standards.

In practice, description appears across disciplines and genres. In literature, descriptive passages create imagery and mood. In science and technical fields, precise descriptions document observations, specimens, instruments, or procedures, often adhering to controlled vocabularies and standardized terminology to enable comparison and replication. In information science, metadata descriptions summarize data sets, files, or resources to facilitate search and retrieval. The quality of a description depends on accuracy, completeness, clarity, and relevance, while avoiding unnecessary ambiguity or subjectivity.

Description can be organized in various ways, including spatial (top to bottom, left to right), hierarchical (by category or function), or chronological (by sequence). It may rely on sensory detail, quantitative measurements, or reference to established classifications. Limitations include the inherent incompleteness of any description and the potential for bias in selection of what is emphasized. Descriptive work often contrasts with explanation, which seeks to account for why a property or phenomenon occurs rather than merely how it presents.