English verb: discover | |||
1. | discover (perception) discover or determine the existence, presence, or fact of | ||
Samples | She detected high levels of lead in her drinking water. We found traces of lead in the paint. | ||
Synonyms | detect, find, notice, observe | ||
Pattern of use | Somebody ----s something. Somebody ----s somebody. Somebody ----s that CLAUSE | ||
Broader (hypernym) | sight, spy | ||
Narrower (hyponym) | catch out, find out, instantiate, see, sense, trace | ||
Verb group | discover, find | ||
2. | discover (cognition) get to know or become aware of, usually accidentally | ||
Samples | I learned that she has two grown-up children. I see that you have been promoted. | ||
Examples | They discover that there was a traffic accident | ||
Synonyms | find out, get a line, get wind, get word, hear, learn, pick up, see | ||
Pattern of use | Somebody ----s something. Somebody ----s that CLAUSE | ||
Narrower (hyponym) | ascertain, catch, discover, find, get the goods, trip up, wise up | ||
Verb group | find, see, witness | ||
3. | discover (creation) make a discovery, make a new finding | ||
Samples | Roentgen discovered X-rays. Physicists believe they found a new elementary particle. | ||
Synonyms | find | ||
Pattern of use | Somebody ----s something. Somebody ----s that CLAUSE | ||
Broader (hypernym) | conceive, conceptualise, conceptualize, gestate | ||
Verb group | ascertain, detect, determine, discover, discover, find, find, find, find out, notice, observe | ||
4. | discover (cognition) make a discovery | ||
Samples | She found that he had lied to her. The story is false, so far as I can discover. | ||
Synonyms | find | ||
Pattern of use | Somebody ----s that CLAUSE | ||
Broader (hypernym) | discover, find out, get a line, get wind, get word, hear, learn, pick up, see | ||
Narrower (hyponym) | ferret, ferret out, rake up | ||
Verb group | discover, find | ||
5. | discover (possession) find unexpectedly | ||
Samples | The archeologists chanced upon an old tomb. She struck a goldmine. The hikers finally struck the main path to the lake. | ||
Synonyms | attain, chance on, chance upon, come across, come upon, fall upon, happen upon, light upon, strike | ||
Pattern of use | Somebody ----s something | ||
Broader (hypernym) | find, regain | ||
6. | discover (communication) make known to the public information that was previously known only to a few people or that was meant to be kept a secret | ||
Samples | The auction house would not disclose the price at which the van Gogh had sold. The actress won't reveal how old she is. Bring out the truth. He broke the news to her. Unwrap the evidence in the murder case. | ||
Synonyms | break, bring out, disclose, divulge, expose, give away, let on, let out, reveal, unwrap | ||
Pattern of use | Somebody ----s something. Something ----s something. Somebody ----s something to somebody. Somebody ----s that CLAUSE | ||
Broader (hypernym) | tell | ||
Narrower (hyponym) | babble, babble out, betray, bewray, blab, blab out, blackwash, blow, come out, come out of the closet, confide, leak, let the cat out of the bag, muckrake, out, out, peach, reveal, sing, spill the beans, spring, talk, tattle | ||
Cause | break, get around, get out | ||
Verb group | break, get around, get out | ||
7. | discover (perception) see for the first time; make a discovery | ||
Samples | Who discovered the North Pole?. | ||
Pattern of use | Somebody ----s something. Somebody ----s somebody | ||
Narrower (hyponym) | rediscover | ||
Entail | comprehend, perceive | ||
8. | discover (cognition) identify as in botany or biology, for example | ||
Synonyms | describe, distinguish, identify, key, key out, name | ||
Pattern of use | Somebody ----s something. Somebody ----s somebody. Something ----s something | ||
Entail | assort, class, classify, separate, sort, sort out | ||