glossing

Skipping the details

Glossing is adding explanatory notes or interpretations to a text, or providing a surface treatment that makes something appear better than it is.

A scholar glosses difficult passages in ancient manuscripts.

To gloss over something is to minimize or conceal its significance: The report glossed over the safety violations.

In linguistics, glossing provides word-by-word translations of foreign text.

surface

sheen

Soft surface luster

lusterSoft reflected light
shineEmit or reflect light
polishSmooth by rubbing

buff · varnish · lacquer · glaze · finish · satin · sleek · gleam · shimmer · patina

annotation

marginalia

Notes in page edges

footnotesMarginal citations below text
commentaryExplanatory remarks on events
notationsWritten symbolic marks

interlinear · cross-reference · editorial · markup · highlighting · underlining · tagging · indexing · bookmarking · apparatus

clarification

elucidate

To make understood

explicateClarify through detailed analysis
illuminateSupply with radiance
demystifyExplain something confusing

disambiguate · explain · simplify · untangle · decode · unravel · paraphrase · restate · define · interpret

translation

interlinear

Between lines of text

bilingualSpeaking two languages
word-for-wordExactly as stated
cribSmall bed with rails

pony · literal · rendering · equivalence · lexical · annotated · parallel text · vocabulary · parsing · grammatical

concealment

whitewash

Conceal or coat pale

downplayDiminish perceived importance
minimizeReduce to smallest extent
obscureUnknown to most

sugarcoat · cover up · smooth over · dismiss · overlook · brush aside · euphemize · deflect · sanitize · spin

Categories

downplayingminimizing, downplay, trivializing, belittling, soft-pedal
interpretationinterpretive dance, translation, interpreting, translating, construing
texture changessmoothing, roughening, softening, hardening, wrinkling
sign languageAmerican Sign Language, British Sign Language, fingerspelling, ASL, handshape
annotationnoting, marking, labeling, commenting, footnoting
application techniquesbrushing, rolling, spraying, dipping, sponging

Opposites

depth of examination

glossingscrutinizing

Examining something very closely

dissecting · probing · investigating · unpacking · poring over

emphasis and attention

glossingemphasizing

Giving special importance to

highlighting · overemphasizing · exaggerating · stressing · underscoring

surface treatment (literal/technical sense)

glossingmatting

Woven protective surface

roughening · texturing · sanding · dulling · frosting

Phrases

glossing overSuperficially covering faults

Family

glossier, glossiest

Familiarity: Top 200,000
Profile: Used worldwide · Timeless · Everyday, not technical · Rated G