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:
In much the same way, Fallingwater’s projecting trays of space, which step up and outward, are a poetic paraphrase of what lies below, the stepped cascade that is nature’s own staircase.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
To paraphrase Eric Cantona, you can change most things in life but never your football team.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
To paraphrase Stephen Miller, surely the most instrumental figure in the Trump White House, the only thing that matters is power.
From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2026
To paraphrase the group’s first Top 10 U.S. hit in 1964, time is on their side.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
This is a paraphrase of Cowee’s story: Late one spring a large part of Tlingit ventured North to Yakutat to trade for copper.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
Early in the book, Justice Kennedy paraphrases long conversations with family, friends and mentors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2025
The passages contain phrases that match exactly, as well as apparent paraphrases and structural similarities.
From Science Magazine ● Apr. 9, 2024
When it comes to motivating his children, Guy Fieri paraphrases the immortal words of Shaquille O’Neal: “If you want any of this cheese, you’ve gotta get two degrees.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 20, 2023
A chatty, warmhearted collection, the book is also littered with casual epiphanies, as when Brian Eno paraphrases the cybernetician Warren Sturgis McCulloch, saying:
From New York Times ● Nov. 2, 2022
His works consist of sermons, poetical paraphrases and gospel sonnets.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 7 "Equation" to "Ethics" by Various
Research has found that AI-detectors can wrongly flag human writing as AI-generated and miss text that was produced by artificial intelligence, particularly if it has been edited or paraphrased.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
Schenck paraphrased Suozzi’s remarks: “I don’t tell anybody this, but, you know, I’ve been, I bunked up at C Street.”
From Salon ● May 29, 2026
Some responses are paraphrased for clarity or condensed for brevity.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 30, 2026
It paraphrased him as saying that not everything that was being written was true.
From Barron's ● Feb. 25, 2026
This is an example of the application of what is known as the anthropic principle, which can be paraphrased as “We see the universe the way it is because we exist.”
From "A Brief History of Time: And Other Essays" by Stephen Hawking
These are demanding novels, resistant to paraphrasing, structurally and linguistically challenging.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
“The reason why you guys are getting this many years,” and this is me paraphrasing, “It’s because we’re trying to make an example.”
From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026
“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
“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
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
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