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.
The findings highlight several important insights about how different instruments can detect these fluctuations:
From Science Daily • Apr. 6, 2026
Major social-media platforms have struggled to detect and label AI-generated content.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 6, 2026
Northern Ireland is also the only UK region yet to lower the level at which traces of blood in a home screening test trigger further investigation to detect more bowel cancers early.
From BBC • Mar. 31, 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
“I had the best seat in the house from which to detect boats,” he later explained, “if there were any.”
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
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From Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.