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.
That was a fake trail, said Lloyd’s List analysts who comb through data along with advanced analytics and human intelligence to detect spoofing.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026
Such devices could amplify extremely weak electrical signals and detect faint magnetic fields, opening the door to new technologies in sensing and measurement.
From Science Daily • 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
If the rats could detect the handful of greens he’d eaten hours earlier, they must have an unbelievable sense of smell.
From "Gregor the Overlander" by Suzanne Collins
Vocabulary lists containing detect
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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List 9
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