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Synonyms

synopsize

American  
[si-nop-sahyz] / sɪˈnɒp saɪz /
especially British, synopsise

verb (used with object)

synopsized, synopsizing
  1. to make a synopsis of; summarize.


synopsize British  
/ sɪˈnɒpsaɪz /

verb

  1. to make a synopsis of

  2. variants of epitomize

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of synopsize

First recorded in 1880–85; synops(is) + -ize

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:

Explanatory panels located inside the showcases synopsize decades of investigations on the part of the carabinieri that often led to criminal proceedings and subsequently the return of the ill-gotten goods.

From New York Times ● Jul. 17, 2022

“It’s like, if you synopsize the story, you haven’t really described the play. It’s about something other than that, and the ‘something other than that’ is the thing.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2019

Okay, that isn’t so simple, but it’s easy enough to synopsize, unlike the story that cuts a path through the greatest hits of existential philosophy.

From The Verge ● Jul. 19, 2017

The plot is hard to synopsize, but here’re the bullet points: In some unspecified time in the future, likely more than 50 years hence, the world is in ecological disaster.

From Slate ● Nov. 6, 2014

The length of this work obliges us to synopsize such matter as is of secondary importance, and to conclude our translation of it in Vol.

From The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 — Volume 23 of 55 1629-30 Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and their peoples, their history and records of the catholic missions, as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the political, economic, commercial and religious conditions of those islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the close of the nineteenth century. by James Alexander Robertson

But it’s the rift between May and Lotta that centers this busy story, which includes more subplots than can be quickly synopsized here.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

What you can perhaps tell from this radically synopsized plot outline is how secondary white characters are to it.

From Slate ● May 27, 2016

As a, rule, he synopsized; but when a speech was especially brilliant, he short-handed it and gave me the best passages from it, written out.

From Following the Equator, Part 3 by Mark Twain

Translation: It is synopsized, and partially translated, by Emma Helen Blair; the remaining translation is by Frederic W. Morrison, of Harvard University, and Norman F. Hall.

From The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 — Volume 07 of 55 1588-1591 Explorations by Early Navigators, Descriptions of the Islands and Their Peoples, Their History and Records of the Catholic Missions, as Related in Contemporaneous Books and Manuscripts, Showing the Political, Economic, Commercial and Religious Conditions of Those Islands from Their Earliest Relations with European Nations to the Close of the Nineteenth Century by James Alexander Robertson

Source: This is translated and synopsized from the copy of the original printed work owned by the Library of Congress.

From The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 — Volume 19 of 55 1620-1621 Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and their peoples, their history and records of the catholic missions, as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the political, economic, commercial and religious conditions of those islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the close of the nineteenth century. by James Alexander Robertson

But I wonder whether some readers might feel a bit overwhelmed, as each actor in the running drama is introduced with a neat two- or three-paragraph backdrop, synopsizing the basis for their perspective.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 29, 2021

His brother Dean explains how such a thing would seem forced, and bluntly recaps his entire story to prove his point — perfectly synopsizing the series for new viewers.

From The Verge ● Jan. 19, 2016

It's also so verbally dense that to attempt to wrestle it into shape after only a few serious listens is as ridiculous as skimming David Foster Wallace's "Infinite Jest" synopsizing the plot.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2015

That’s a blunt way of synopsizing a complicated character.

From Time ● Sep. 4, 2014

Nor is Paul quite up to the challenge of synopsizing and illuminating an artist’s long career.

From Time ● Apr. 23, 2014

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