verb
beggar
to exceed what can be adequately described
The scale of the deception beggars belief.
Etymology
The verb first evokes reducing someone to poverty. Something that beggars description figuratively exhausts description’s resources, leaving words inadequate to the task.
More examples
- The view beggared description.
- His excuses beggar belief.
- The destruction was beggaring every attempt at description.
Forms
beggar · beggars · beggared · beggaring