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.
Some are speaking up, but I don't yet detect a groundswell of pressure.
From BBC • Apr. 17, 2026
Pitt’s Whitney says special goggles can help clinicians detect the characteristic eye movements that occur during a vertigo episode.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026
How to detect AI-composed text—and whether humans or software can tell the difference—is a subject of academic debate.
From Barron's • Apr. 14, 2026
The study’s findings also highlight gaps in disease surveillance systems, which often fail to detect pathogens circulating in wildlife before they reach humans.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2026
By the time of Stepson’s death, scientists had devised numerous tools to detect poison in a corpse.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
Vocabulary lists containing detect
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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List 9
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