rephrase

verb

re·​phrase (ˌ)rē-ˈfrāz 

rephrased; rephrasing

transitive verb

: to phrase or express (something) in a different way especially to make the meaning clearer

Let me rephrase the question.

… spoke first in precise medical terms, then quickly rephrased them in laymen's language.

—George J. Church and Evan Thomas

Synonyms

• translate
• summarize

Examples of rephrase in a Sentence

I don't understand what you're asking—could you rephrase your question?

Recent Examples on the Web

In rephrasing tasks, smaller models delivered natural, varied output with response quality that closely matched larger systems. —Alan Nichol, Forbes.com, 24 June 2025

The judge interrupted Steel several times, instructing him to move along or rephrase complicated questions. —Michael R. Sisak, Arkansas Online, 5 May 2025

To rephrase that, with Joann Fabrics, we’re used to this broad story. —Callum Booth, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2025

By offloading tasks like contextual rephrasing to a lightweight LLM, teams preserved conversational quality while cutting unnecessary overhead. —Alan Nichol, Forbes.com, 24 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1882, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for rephrase

• ablaze
• airways
• allays
• always
• amaze
• anglaise
• appraise
• archways
• arrays
• ashtrays
• assays
• ballets