detect
Usage
What are other ways to say detect?
To detect implies becoming aware of something that had been obscure, secret, or concealed: to detect a flaw in reasoning. To ascertain is to verify facts by inquiry or analysis: to ascertain the truth about an event. To learn is to add to one's knowledge or information: to learn a language. The verb discover is used with objective clauses as a synonym of learn in order to suggest that the new information acquired is surprising to the learner: I discovered that she had been married before.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Watch the video above to find out ways to detect whether your devices are clean or have fallen victim to hackers.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 4, 2026
Using his acute sense of smell and training to detect a chemical compound within explosives, Magawa would then alert human handlers of mines that could be later safely removed.
From BBC • Apr. 4, 2026
They relied on a computer algorithm to detect tiny, repeated dips in starlight that occur when a planet passes in front of its star.
From Science Daily • Apr. 4, 2026
"It's always hard to be 100 percent, but we can detect more than 90 percent of what's happening in real time."
From Barron's • Mar. 31, 2026
“Do I detect sadness, Rasheed? Are you reminiscing about your old life?”
From "The Last Last-Day-of-Summer" by Lamar Giles
From Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.
