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• précis
  précis

  noun

  a concise summary.
• precis
  precis

  noun

  a summary of the essentials of a text; abstract

précis

American  

[prey-see, prey-see] / preɪˈsi, ˈpreɪ si /

noun

précis plural

1. a concise summary.

   Synonyms:

   abstract, condensation, digest

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verb (used with object)

1. to make a précis of.

precis British  

/ ˈpreɪsiː /

noun

1. a summary of the essentials of a text; abstract

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verb

1. (tr) to make a precis of

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• précis
  plural

Etymology

Origin of précis

1750–60; < French, noun use of adj., literally, cut short. See precise

Explanation

A precis is a summary of something's main points. If you've ever jotted down notes about your main ideas before writing a persuasive essay, you've used a precis. Precis looks like precise, and of course, you always want your precis to be precise. But the words are pronounced differently. Precis comes from the French word précis, so say it like this: "PRAY see." Or you can accent the other syllable: "pray SEE." The s is only pronounced if the word is plural: "PRAY sees." The spelling stays the same.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

précis precis

As a précis to a larger, more scholarly work, it lacks the depth and historical context that many enthusiasts of classical drama may be hungry for.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026

He segued into a précis of his political life, starting when he was a 29-year-old senator.

From Slate ● Mar. 8, 2024

Props, scripts, costumes and even a replica of the trailer from 1972’s “Pink Flamingos” serve as an immersive, chronological précis of Waters’s cinematic work.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2023

A zippy 1967 film by Jacques Tati, “Playtime,” has a scene that serves as a clean précis for “Figure It Out’s” credo.

From Washington Post ● May 11, 2020

The reading world is hunger-bitten about Asia, and I often think I shall take three months' leave and run up a précis of Sanskrit and Pali literature, just a few folios for the learned world.

From Twenty-One Days in India; and, the Teapot Series by Aberigh-Mackay, George Robert

A neat precis of Pakistan's World Cup campaign, overall.

From BBC ● Feb. 28, 2026

"The performances are accomplished. Norton gives us a soul broken into fragments. The play, inevitably can only deliver a precis of a book that sprawls over some 700 pages."

From BBC ● Apr. 6, 2023

In character as Bobby, the museum’s chief curator, Eichner gave a brief precis of Hirschfeld’s career, finishing with an ad-lib, “Tragically, he’s also my type.”

From New York Times ● May 18, 2022

Ministers have said they will publish only a precis of the advice.

From The Guardian ● Dec. 2, 2018

With this brittle precis of her obligations he left the table and went toward the bedroom.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan