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to parenthesize

to parenthesize

8.2
To treat information as a small extra note by putting it in parentheses
  • verb
  • /pərˈɛnθəˌsaɪz/
translation icon : considerar como un apéndice
  • When explaining the concept, he had to parenthesize some details that were not essential to the main point.

Examples

  • In her essay, she chose to parenthesize the author's name, indicating that it was a side note.

  • The author decided to parenthesize the additional information to keep the main argument clear.

  • Or we could just bracket parenthesize the yeah.

Antonyms

397 3.7

To show that something is very important

How Important

to emphasize
  • US
397 3.7
to highlight
340 3.3
to mention
1.0
to parenthesize
8.2
to dismiss
332 3.0
to ignore
1.0

Surface Forms

parenthesize infinitive
parenthesized past participle
parenthesizing present participle
parenthesizes third person singular

Morphology

parenthesize = parenthesis (semi-transparent) = parenthesis + ize

The formation is the same as the literal sense, but the figurative meaning 'treat as an aside or secondary' is a metaphorical extension and not purely literal.

Etymology

Parenthesize comes from the same idea of para- 'beside', so to parenthesize a thought is to set it apart as an 'aside' or less important point. That way the idea sits 'beside' the main argument and is clearly not the main focus.