summarise
Give brief overview
Summarise is the British spelling of summarize—to condense something into its main points, stripping away detail to capture the essence: Can you summarise the report in a few sentences?
A summary gives you the gist without the full text.
The ability to summarise well requires distinguishing what's essential from what's not.
Condensed written summary
- gistCentral meaning distilled
- synopsisCondensed version of content
- abstractCondensed version of text
- digestMetabolize or summarize
recap · rundown · overview · wrap-up · bullet points · highlights · key points · takeaways
Reduce volume by force
- abridgeShorten by omission
- shortenReduce in extent
- distillPurify through vaporization
- boil downReduce to essentials
truncate · curtail · reduce · capsulize · concentrate · tighten · pare down · prune
Underlying support system
- structureArrangement of interconnected parts
- skeletonInternal supportive framework
- headingsLabels for text sections
- bullet pointsMarked summary elements
roadmap · schema · layout · chapters · draft · table of contents · main points · talking points
Brief review of events
- recountNarrate or retally
- retellNarrate once more
- paraphraseRestatement in new words
- rephraseExpress differently
restate · report · describe · relate · account · review · recapitulate · go over
Including all elements
- holisticAddressing interconnected wholes
- bird's-eyeView from high above
- panoramicOffering unobstructed wide view
- broadWide in span
overall · sweeping · wide-ranging · macroscopic · high-level · big picture · general · overarching
precis
Condensed written summary
digest · recap · rundown · overview · wrap-up · bullet points · highlights · key points · takeaways · bottom line
compress
Reduce volume by force
boil down · truncate · curtail · reduce · capsulize · concentrate · tighten · pare down · prune · trim
framework
Underlying support system
- structureArrangement of interconnected parts
- skeletonInternal supportive framework
- headingsLabels for text sections
bullet points · roadmap · schema · layout · chapters · draft · table of contents · main points · talking points · agenda
recap
Brief review of events
- recountNarrate or retally
- retellNarrate once more
- paraphraseRestatement in new words
rephrase · restate · report · describe · relate · account · review · recapitulate · go over · cover
comprehensive
Including all elements
- holisticAddressing interconnected wholes
- bird's-eyeView from high above
- panoramicOffering unobstructed wide view
broad · overall · sweeping · wide-ranging · macroscopic · high-level · big picture · general · overarching · umbrella
- to summarizeState core points briefly
- plot summariesCondensed story outlines
- executive summariesCondensed reports for leadership
- annual summariesPeriodic consolidated overviews
- novel summariesCondensed fiction accounts
- chapter summariesCondensed overviews of book sections
summarize, summarized, summarizing, summarizes, summaries, summarised, summarises, summarising, summarisation