Synopsizes

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Presents a brief overview by highlighting the main ideas of a text or speech
2. Condenses information to provide a concise recap of the essential elements
3. Produces a short summary that captures the most important details and themes

Etymology: "Synopsizes" is the third-person singular form of "synopsize", so its history is that of the verb it comes from. That verb is formed from "synopsis", a Greek-derived noun meaning "a general view" or "a seeing together," built from "syn-" ("together") and "opsis" ("sight" or "view"). The same root gives English "optic" and "optical," so a synopsis is, at its core, a survey taken all at once. The suffix "-ize" comes from Greek "-izein," which English adopted to form verbs meaning "to make into" or "to treat in a certain way." Attaching it to "synopsis" produced a verb meaning to reduce something to its main points. Because the base noun is itself a compound of "together" and "sight," the verb carries the idea of bringing a whole into a single view and presenting only its essentials.

Synonyms: summarizes