paraphrase
Americannoun
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paraphrases
plural
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a restatement of a text or passage giving the meaning in another form, as for clearness; rewording.
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the act or process of restating or rewording.
verb (used with object)
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paraphrases,
present (3rd person singular)
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paraphrased,
past participle, past
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paraphrasing
present participle
verb (used without object)
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paraphrases,
present (3rd person singular)
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paraphrased,
past participle, past
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paraphrasing
present participle
noun
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an expression of a statement or text in other words, esp in order to clarify
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the practice of making paraphrases
verb
Usage
What does paraphrase mean? A paraphrase is a restatement of a text in your own words while giving credit to the person who originated the thought. For example, President Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” You might paraphrase it in an essay by writing, “To paraphrase FDR, we have nothing to be afraid of, and we can’t let fear hold us back.”To paraphrase means to restate something in your own words. You might paraphrase complicated information in order to make it easier for your audience to understand. You also might paraphrase something when you can’t remember or can’t verify the exact wording. It’s important to remember that you still need to credit the originator of the statement you’re paraphrasing. Example: If you cannot remember the exact quote, you can paraphrase with precise detail.
Synonym Usage
See translation.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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paraphrasernoun
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misparaphraseverb
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paraphrasableadjective
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paraphrasticadjective
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unparaphrasedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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paraphrasesimple
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paraphrasessimple
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have paraphrasedperfect
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has paraphrasedperfect
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am paraphrasingprogressive
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are paraphrasingprogressive
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is paraphrasingprogressive
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have been paraphrasingperfect progressive
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has been paraphrasingperfect progressive
Past
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paraphrasedsimple
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had paraphrasedperfect
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was paraphrasingprogressive
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were paraphrasingprogressive
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had been paraphrasingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of paraphrase
First recorded in 1540–50; from Middle French, from Latin paraphrasis, from Greek paráphrasis; para- 1 + phrase
Explanation
The verb paraphrase means to sum something up or clarify a statement by rephrasing it. So to paraphrase that explanation, it means to say something in other, simpler words. If you break paraphrase down, you end up with the prefix para, meaning "beside," and the word phrase — so think of paraphrase as coming up with similar, more simple phrases that go beside the ones already said. You might paraphrase your teacher’s lesson because you want to simplify her complicated technical language, or because you forgot exactly what she said but remember the general meaning.
Vocabulary lists containing paraphrase
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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Vocabulary of the Common Core
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TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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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.
See Examples For:
To paraphrase Eric Cantona, you can change most things in life but never your football team.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
To paraphrase Clint Eastwood of all people, a theater buff has to know his limitations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026
After considering that last point, another paraphrase comes to mind, an adaptation of Pogo’s famous line: “We have met the tech sector, and he is us.”
From Barron's ● May 29, 2026
But to paraphrase the Book of Ecclesiastes, there’s a time and a place for everything.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2026
We should work hard to improve the prisons in our society—take up the unfinished work of Thomas Mott Osborne and transform these scrap heaps into repair shops, to paraphrase the great reformer.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
Playing a standard tune, he would frequently develop paraphrases of the melody, taking it through unlikely re-imagining of the harmonies of a song.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 26, 2026
Early in the book, Justice Kennedy paraphrases long conversations with family, friends and mentors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2025
The extent of duplication varies between passages, but all contain multiple identical phrases, as well as clear paraphrases and significant structural similarity.
From Science Magazine ● Apr. 9, 2024
Numa dies clutching a piece of paper that paraphrases John 15:13 in the Bible: “No hay amor más grande que el que de la vida por sus amigos.”
From Salon ● Jan. 23, 2024
The late vicar of Bremhill did these metrical paraphrases of the Latin which led so tragically, but whose qualities, as verse, resemble the average of the ordinary Pantomime librettist.
From The Bath Road History, Fashion, & Frivolity on an Old Highway by Charles G. (Charles George) Harper
As paraphrased by Vogue, Anastasia says the tins are “all about reinventing the ordinary” into “something special and bespoke.”
From Salon ● May 17, 2026
It paraphrased him as saying that not everything that was being written was true.
From Barron's ● Feb. 25, 2026
In the latter portions of the book, though, paraphrased conversations raise real questions—especially his conversations with Scalia, whom he recalls as a great friend, which is no doubt true.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2025
In his daily conference call on Monday with journalists, Peskov claimed some of what was said in the NBC interview was "paraphrased."
From BBC ● Mar. 31, 2025
She quoted Frost; she misquoted Stevens; she paraphrased Rilke's description of love.
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
“There’s nobody who’s happy in all things,” according to Nicostratus, paraphrasing Euripides.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026
“They said they would come,” Enguidanos said, paraphrasing a typical response, “and they just didn’t show up.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 25, 2026
Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet was at the event, and in Tapper and Thompson’s paraphrasing, it made him consider “what Biden’s age likely meant when it came to the issue of immigration.”
From Slate ● Jun. 3, 2025
He told BBC Verify he was "paraphrasing what I thought that meant to them", when he gave his Radio 4 interview.
From BBC ● Jan. 9, 2025
“Lead me not into temptation but deliver me from evil,” he says, paraphrasing Matthew 6:13.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
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.
