ENGLISH
REFERENCE

designated

v.
B2 Upper Intermediate US //ˈdɛzɪɡˌneɪtɪd// UK //dˈɛzɪɡnˌeɪtɪd// des·ig·nat·ed

v. to choose someone or something for a special job or purpose. You use this when you officially name a person or a place for a specific role.

v. to officially assign a specific status or function to someone or something. Often used in the passive voice to indicate that a person or area has been selected for a particular purpose.


SIMPLE

The city council decided to designate this park as a protected area.

CONTEXTUAL

The manager will designate one person from each team to lead the safety training next month.

COMPLEX

The government plans to designate several coastal regions as marine sanctuaries to prevent further damage from industrial fishing and commercial shipping traffic.

Synonyms
Usage

The verb is transitive and frequently appears in the passive form ('is designated as').

Pitfall

They designated him for the leader.They designated him as the leader.When assigning a role or title, the verb typically takes the preposition 'as' rather than 'for'.

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