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Synonyms

parentheses

Cultural  

  1. Punctuation marks — ( ) — used to separate elements in a sentence. Parentheses subordinate (see subordination) the material within them so that readers save most of their attention for the rest of the sentence: “Aunt Sarah (who is really my mother's cousin) will be visiting next week.”

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.

It’s less jarring than parentheses but a bigger interruption than commas.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 20, 2025

They are listed in ascending order of their trailing-month returns, which are displayed in the parentheses.

From MarketWatch • Nov. 10, 2025

It will always be a melter of a slow jam, but its intention is in those parentheses – to be in the sensation of aliveness he’s created.

From Salon • Oct. 19, 2025

One of those descriptions included in “UCLA vs USC” in parentheses.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 12, 2025

The thing to know about parentheses is that they can enclose a whole sentence standing alone, or something within a sentence.

From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner

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.