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 The point of this closing demonstration seems to be that mature capitalism recapitulates its original sin with every new generation. Benjamin Kunkel, Harpers Magazine, 28 Mar. 2025 The Fourth Turning Is Here: What the Seasons of History Tell Us About How and When This Crisis Will End Howe’s book recapitulates his theory that a cyclical pattern underlies Anglo-American history. Barry Eichengreen, Foreign Affairs, 10 Dec. 2024 That left the scientists behind this new research wondering whether pain from Long Covid could also be recapitulated. Byjennifer Couzin-Frankel, science.org, 21 June 2024 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
  • The resulting feature was published on March 14, 2022, publicly summarizing the case for the first time in years and providing Army CID contact information.
    Robert Alexander, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2025
  • During a July City Commission meeting, Commissioner Richard Lara, who received at least one of the surveys but did not respond to it, summarized the allegations detailed in the blog posts.
    Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 30 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Recapitulate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/recapitulate. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.

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