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.
Three years ago, Nelligan and his colleagues, working from the backyard of a neighbor of Susan Flores, used soil vapor sampling to detect volatile organic compounds they say may be associated with decomposing human remains.
From Los Angeles Times • May 7, 2026
By analyzing blood samples, they developed personalized tests that can detect whether cancer DNA is still present in the bloodstream.
From Science Daily • May 6, 2026
As AI-generated writing floods the internet, more people are trying to detect which creators are using such tools to spin up copy.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 6, 2026
Research from the University of Florida shows that when employees detect AI in supervisors’ communications, trust drops to as low as 40%.
From MarketWatch • May 6, 2026
We could no longer detect the city, the night was so black, so full of water and motion, so unsparing was the drench.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
Vocabulary lists containing detect
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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List 9
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