annotation
Americannoun
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a critical or explanatory note or body of notes added to a text.
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the act of annotating.
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note. annot.
noun
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the act of annotating
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a note added in explanation, etc, esp of some literary work
Usage
What does annotation mean? An annotation is a note or comment added to a text to provide explanation or criticism about a particular part of it. Annotation can also refer to the act of annotating—adding annotations. Annotations are often added to scholarly articles or to literary works that are being analyzed. But the term can be used in a more general way to refer to a note added to any text. For example, a note that you scribble in the margin of your textbook is an annotation, as is an explanatory comment that you add to a list of tasks at work. Something that has had such notes added to it can be described as annotated. The word annotation is sometimes abbreviated as annot. (which can also mean annotated or annotator). Example: The annotations in this edition of the book really helped me to understand the historical context and the meanings of some obscure words.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of annotation
First recorded in 1425–75, annotation is from the Latin word annotātiōn- (stem of annotātiō ). See annotate, -ion
Explanation
Annotations are simply notes or comments. If you have trouble understanding Shakespeare, you may want to buy a copy of "Hamlet" with annotations on each page that explain all the vocabulary words and major themes. The word annotation comes from the Latin root words ad, meaning "to," and notare, meaning "to note." The act of adding explanatory notes to something is also called annotation, as in "Your friends might be amused by your annotation of the text, but I don't think the professor will accept "No one knows and no one cares!" as a reason for why the protagonist acted the way he did."
Vocabulary lists containing annotation
Reading: Informational - Middle School
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The Fellowship of the Ring
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Additional Glossary Terms
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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.
After watching a video on TikTok, she found a side hustle: training artificial intelligence models for a website called Data Annotation Tech.
From New York Times • Apr. 10, 2024
Annotation lengths will vary depending on the length of the source, how it is used in your project, and how much analysis you do within the annotation.
From Textbooks • Dec. 21, 2021
Katy Waldman’s “Will Genius Turn Us Into an Annotation Nation?” is a delight from start to finish.
From Slate • Apr. 10, 2015
Extended Data Figure 5: Annotation of repeats and non-coding RNA genes.
From Nature • Jan. 22, 2014
Annotation at the end of each of the seven books.
From Catalogue of the Books Presented by Edward Capell to the Library of Trinity College in Cambridge by Greg, W. W.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
