When we paraphrase, we provide a version that can exist beside the original (rather than replace it). We paraphrase all the time. When you tell a friend what someone else has said, you're almost always paraphrasing, since you're not repeating the exact words. If you go to hear a talk, you might paraphrase the speaker's main points afterward for your friends. And when writing a paper on a short story, you might start off your essay with a paraphrase of the plot. Paraphrasing is especially useful when dealing with poetry, since poetic language is often difficult and poems may have meanings that are hard to pin down.
Noun This is just a paraphrase of what he said, not an exact quote. your essays on human rights should have some original thought and not be simply a paraphrase of what's in the textbook Verb I'm paraphrasing, but he did say something like that. could you paraphrase your diagnosis of my medical condition, using simpler language?
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
That’s a paraphrase of a Jeff Goldblum line from the original Jurassic Park, as his Malcolm lectures Sir Richard Attenborough’s John Hammond on the ethics of spawning dinosaurs in a modern world. Laurie Brookins, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 June 2022 Goldman’s three-word distillation turned out to be perhaps the greatest paraphrase in Hollywood history.Washington Post, 9 June 2022 The third section is a paraphrase of archaeologist Howard Carter describing his experience in 1922 of peering through an opening to discover King Tut’s tomb. A.j. Jacobs, WSJ, 23 Apr. 2022 That's a paraphrase of a line usually attributed to military strategist Sun-Tzu. Damon Linker, The Week, 1 Mar. 2022 In paraphrase, analysts at the firm reasoned that neither Covid-19, nor the ruinous 9.9% contraction experienced by the United Kingdom, were necessarily the actual problem. Will Nicoll, Forbes, 22 Jan. 2022 To share another paraphrase of Marous, data and how it is used creates the foundation of a strong financial relationship in today’s world. Monica Hovsepian, Forbes, 5 Jan. 2022 If, as Flannery O’Connor once said, a good story resists paraphrase, then The Chair is well on its way to earning such a distinction. Roxanne Fequiere, Vulture, 1 Sep. 2021 That heading is a paraphrase of something Gertrude Stein said about the difference between poetry and prose.New York Times, 15 July 2021
Verb
To paraphrase Mark Twain, the rumors of the death of the U.S. consumer are greatly exaggerated. Bill Stone, Forbes, 29 May 2022 To paraphrase Steve Martin, comedy’s not always pretty. Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 28 July 2022 Now, to paraphrase an iconic Mel and Sue phrase: On your marks, get set...shop! Caroline Hallemann, Town & Country, 22 July 2022 Telling who might be genuinely informed and who isn’t, however, is quite simple: To paraphrase Anna Karenina, people who are well informed on a subject all tend to value truthfulness in the same way, and that means speaking in uncertain terms. Radu Magdin, Forbes, 8 June 2022 Companies are seeing their valuations fall, to paraphrase Ernest Hemingway's quote on bankruptcy, in two ways: Gradually, and all at once. Kevin Kelleher, Fortune, 24 May 2022 To paraphrase Kevin Garnett, anything is possible in college sports now. Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 5 July 2022 There are those who take photos and those who make photos, to paraphrase the legendary photographer Ansel Adams.CNN, 7 June 2022 To paraphrase Katy Waldman’s critique of self-awareness in contemporary fiction, awareness doesn’t equal atonement. Ben Sandman, The New Republic, 26 Apr. 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Noun and Verb
Middle French, from Latin paraphrasis, from Greek, from paraphrazein to paraphrase, from para- + phrazein to point out