Definition of recapitulatenext
as in to summarize
to make into a short statement of the main points (as of a report) the professor told the students that their papers should not recapitulate the whole plot but should rather discuss in detail one particular incident they thought was interesting

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of recapitulate But the collision of townhouses and tower, balconies and bays — all those protrusions veering in different directions — recapitulate the whole trajectory of New York living and resemble a cartoonist’s rendering of the city’s chaotic jangle. Justin Davidson, Curbed, 28 Jan. 2026 Raven’s marvel of a case study recapitulates the dissonance whereby cycles—political, social, structural, ecological—continue, monuments are created and destroyed and momentum is incited and frustrated, all while costs continue to mount. Anne Reeve, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2025 The themes of this embarrassing episode were recapitulated throughout two more tortuous years of talks. Mike Gallagher, Foreign Affairs, 26 July 2023 Because they are seen as a critical step in a grand technological evolution in aviation that will recapitulate the migration, just beginning now, of the automotive industry from combustion engines to electric motors. IEEE Spectrum, 1 June 2018 See All Example Sentences for recapitulate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for recapitulate
summarize
Verb
  • To summarize Tua Tagovailoa’s six years with the Miami Dolphins is not simple.
    Greg Cote August 27, Miami Herald, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Fuller’s ideas are hard to summarize, but always seem to reach toward a utopian vision of escaping the drudgery of everyday life.
    Christopher Cox, Vanity Fair, 26 Aug. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Recapitulate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/recapitulate. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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