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
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
To paraphrase some anonymous wag, never let a cross-cultural calamity go to waste.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 2026
To paraphrase Homer Simpson, “It’s sad ‘cause it’s true.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 9, 2026
And today, as I stand over the remains of these beautiful, darling girls, I paraphrase the words of Shakespeare: Good night, sweet princesses.
From "While the World Watched: A Birmingham Bombing Survivor Comes of Age during the Civil Rights Movement" by Carolyn Maull McKinstry
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
Helena paraphrases the “Wizard of Oz,” saying: “Pay no attention to the pins behind the curtain.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 21, 2023
The present version of the psalms was that year printed for use in public worship, and no hymns nor paraphrases were appended.
From Bygone Church Life in Scotland by Various
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
The italicized language in the description of the referenced email exchange is paraphrased, not directly quoted.
From "Educated" by Tara Westover
“But,” Woodward and Costa write, as if paraphrasing Graham’s thoughts, “there was no changing him. You just kept the conversation going.”
From Slate ● Jul. 13, 2026
Sayers praised the art underlying the artifice, paraphrasing Aristotle on the practice of literary deception.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 20, 2026
I’m paraphrasing, but he tells his son something to the extent of — James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, those are yours.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 27, 2026
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
Bacon writes of ‘the law of nature and the mutual contracts of things’: he is paraphrasing Lucretius.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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.
