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Definition of "paraphrase" []

  • A restatement of a text or passage in another form or other words, often to clarify meaning. (noun)
  • The restatement of texts in other words as a studying or teaching device. (noun)
  • To restate in a paraphrase. (verb-transitive)
  • To compose a paraphrase. (verb-intransitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "paraphrase" in a sentence
  • "The Ben Franklin paraphrase is particularly apt — the biggest source of trouble in today’s legal system is the tendency of judges to become convinced of their infallibility."
  • "As I said, my paraphrase is "predicting the future is hard." morning"
  • "To paraphrase from the line in All About Eve, when exactly does the piano begin thinking it wrote the sonata?"