VocabularyBasePractice words

Meaning & use

verbatim

adverb, adjective·Academicformal

Last updated

UK/vɜːˈbeɪtɪm/
US/vɚˈbeɪtɪm/

Meanings

  1. adverbnot comparable

    Using exactly the same words as an original speaker or text, without any change.

    Grammar: Usually follows the verb or its object: she quoted him verbatim.

    Patterns

    • quote something verbatim
    • repeat something verbatim
    • copy something verbatim

    The journalist repeated the minister's reply verbatim so nobody could accuse her of twisting it.

    Our teacher made us learn the poem so well that we could recite it verbatim.

    He copied the paragraph verbatim from the website, which is why the software flagged it.

  2. adjectivebefore a noun

    Matching the original words exactly; word for word.

    Grammar: Comes before a noun: a verbatim record, not a record that is verbatim.

    Patterns

    • a verbatim account of something
    • a verbatim transcript

    The court reporter produced a verbatim transcript of the hearing.

    Her essay contained several verbatim passages lifted from a textbook.

    The newspaper printed a verbatim copy of the speech on page three.

Common combinations

quote verbatim
If you quote verbatim, put the words in quotation marks.
verbatim transcript
The lawyers asked for a verbatim transcript of the interview.
verbatim account
He gave a verbatim account of the phone call, down to the pauses.
repeat word for word / verbatim
The child repeated the instructions verbatim, but did not understand them.
report verbatim
The paper reported her comments verbatim, including the rude ones.

Synonyms and how they differ

word for word
Word for word is the plain, everyday way to say the same thing, while verbatim sounds more formal and suits records and quotations.
literally
Literally describes meaning taken at face value rather than exact wording, so a translation can be literal without being verbatim.
exact
Exact can describe any kind of precision, whereas verbatim refers only to the precise words someone used.
textual
Textual simply relates to a text and does not promise that every word is reproduced unchanged.

Opposites

paraphrasedsummarized

Word family

verbalize verb
to put thoughts or feelings into words
verbal adjective
relating to words, or spoken rather than written
verb noun
a word that expresses an action or state; shares the Latin root verbum, meaning word
verbiage noun
an excess of words, often more than is needed

Commonly confused: verbatim or verbally? verbatim or verbose?

verbatim vs verbally

Verbally means in spoken words, as opposed to in writing. It says nothing about whether the words are exact, whereas verbatim does.

verbatim vs verbose

Verbose describes someone who uses too many words. It has nothing to do with copying words exactly.

Practice

The editor asked the reporter to include the mayor's statement ____, with no changes at all.

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “verbatim”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Your sentence stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.

Explore more words