Rephrases

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To restate a concept using new wording while ensuring the essence remains intact ; To modify the phrasing of an expression for better clarity or emphasis ; To deliver a message anew through different language to improve comprehension
2. Conveys the same idea using alternative wording to improve understanding
3. Presents information in different words to make the original meaning clearer

Etymology: The verb "rephrase" is a plain formation: the prefix "re-", meaning "again" or "back", attached to "phrase." That base comes from the Late Latin "phrasis," borrowed from Greek "phrasis," meaning "speech" or "manner of expression," and it reached English through Middle French "phrase" in the 16th century. So a rephrase is, literally, a second speaking of the same thing in different words. "Rephrase" itself is considerably later than its parts. English speakers were using "phrase" as a verb meaning "to express in words" by the 1500s, and forming "rephrase" from it in the 1800s, with the same sense of restating or putting something anew that it carries today.

Synonyms: restates, rewords, paraphrases, recasts, reforms

Antonyms: misinterprets, confuses, misstates, obfuscates, distorts