Meaning & use
paraphrasing
Last updated
“paraphrasing” is a form of “paraphrase”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbtransitive
Present participle of paraphrase: expressing what someone else said or wrote using different words.
Grammar: Takes an object: she is paraphrasing the article.
Patterns
- paraphrasing something
- paraphrasing what someone said
She is paraphrasing the report instead of quoting it.
I was paraphrasing the teacher's advice for my classmates.
Paraphrasing the author's idea in your own words shows that you understand it.
noununcountable
The skill or act of restating text or speech in new words to make the meaning clearer.
Grammar: Uncountable: paraphrasing takes practice.
Patterns
- practice paraphrasing
- skill in paraphrasing
Paraphrasing is a useful skill for essay writing.
The teacher gave us an exercise in paraphrasing.
Good paraphrasing keeps the meaning but changes the structure.
Common combinations
- avoid plagiarism by paraphrasing
- You can avoid plagiarism by paraphrasing carefully and citing the source.
- paraphrasing exercise
- We did a paraphrasing exercise in class.
- paraphrasing tool
- A paraphrasing tool can suggest alternative wording.
- paraphrasing a quotation
- He lost marks for paraphrasing a quotation too closely.
- skill of paraphrasing
- The skill of paraphrasing improves with reading.
Synonyms and how they differ
- rephrasing
- Rephrasing can mean rewording your own sentence, while paraphrasing normally refers to someone else's words.
- summarizing
- Summarizing makes the text shorter, while paraphrasing keeps roughly the same length.
- restating
- Restating is a plainer word that does not stress changing the wording as much.
- translating
- Translating moves meaning between languages, whereas paraphrasing stays in one language.
Opposites
Word family
- paraphrase verb
- to express something in other words
- paraphrase noun
- a restatement in different words
- paraphrased adjective
- expressed in other words
- paraphrasable adjective
- able to be restated in other words
Commonly confused: paraphrasing or plagiarizing? paraphrasing or summarizing?
paraphrasing vs plagiarizing
Plagiarizing means copying without credit, while paraphrasing is legitimate when you still cite the source.
paraphrasing vs summarizing
A summary is shorter; a paraphrase is a re-expression at similar length.
Practice
A student rewrites a sentence from a book using new words but the same meaning. What is she doing?
Choose one answer.
Paraphrasing means expressing the same meaning in different words. Quoting would repeat the exact words, and translating changes the language.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “paraphrasing”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.