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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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
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
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Jeff Hafley’s an excellent communicator Hafley needs 30 seconds to summarize things that would have taken Mike McDaniel three minutes.—
Omar Kelly,
Miami Herald,
9 June 2026
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The slow pace is due to a law that requires each ballot and each tally sheet, which summarizes the votes from each polling station, to be taken to one of more than 100 offices to be counted.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
9 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Recapitulate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/recapitulate. Accessed 17 Jun. 2026.
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