Verbatim
/vɜːrˈbeɪtɪm/adjective
Repeating exactly the same words that were originally used.
He repeated her words verbatim to the police.
Often appears as...
- quoted verbatim
- repeat verbatim
adverb
In a way that uses exactly the same words that were originally used.
The speech was reported verbatim.
Often appears as...
- report verbatim
- quote verbatim
adjective
Repeating exactly the same words that were originally used.
He repeated her words verbatim to the police.
Often appears as...
- quoted verbatim
- repeat verbatim
adverb
In a way that uses exactly the same words that were originally used.
The speech was reported verbatim.
Often appears as...
- report verbatim
- quote verbatim
Definition 1 of 2
Pro Tip 1/3Accurate Representation
Use 'verbatim' to show you're repeating someone's exact words, like citing a source.
She read the statement verbatim from the court transcript.
Pro Tip 2/3Emphasis on Precision
'Verbatim' emphasizes the precision of what was said without any alterations.
When I asked for his opinion, he gave me the facts verbatim.
Pro Tip 3/3Not for Paraphrasing
Don't use 'verbatim' if summarizing or rephrasing; it's only for exact words.
To avoid misunderstandings, he quoted the law verbatim.
Compare with
duplicatorexactidenticalliterarilypreciseunalteredunchangedword for word
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Video examples
To listen is to live PIPE...
place so since we were young we've been taught to listen with an analytical year and just record the headlines but for me that doesn't work I strive to capture every single word as it's being said now of course I fall short of verbatim and
Video examples
An honest look at the...
and no husband to back me up. Months of slow pay and no pay have decimated my credit. Bill collectors call constantly, reading verbatim from a script before expressing polite sympathy for my plight
Video examples
To listen is to live PIPE...
place so since we were young we've been taught to listen with an analytical year and just record the headlines but for me that doesn't work I strive to capture every single word as it's being said now of course I fall short of verbatim and
Video examples
An honest look at the...
and no husband to back me up. Months of slow pay and no pay have decimated my credit. Bill collectors call constantly, reading verbatim from a script before expressing polite sympathy for my plight
Example 1 of 2
Quote examples
Jon Richardson
English Comedian
I certainly tried to talk about less complex things, but I've had to accept that it's just not what I do. That isn't to say that my shows are depressing - they aren't. At least, I hope they aren't! The problem I have with stories about happy things is that they don't require any skill from a comic - they just repeat the details verbatim.
Quote examples
Elizabeth McCracken
American Author
Ordinarily, I'd claim that I'd never write directly about my children, but the opening conversation of 'Peter Elroy' is a verbatim conversation that my children had that I just loved: morbid, funny, passionate, and obsessed with the truth of things - all natural qualities of children that I'd like my work to contain.
Quote examples
Evan Osnos
American Journalist
Over the centuries, Chinese bureaucrats perfected the dark arts of emptiness to such an extent that when they deliver speeches these days, they often recite verbatim speeches that they have previously delivered, with the sparest of adjustments.
Quote examples
Thomas Middleditch
Canadian Actor
I've spoken to people in Silicon Valley, and many times they have said to me, 'X storyline, or that thing that happened in your show - pretty much verbatim has happened to me.' And it's either identical or similar enough to be scary.
Quote examples
Chuck Palahniuk
American Novelist
If you take my stuff apart, you'll find my choruses of repetitions are picked up almost verbatim from Kurt Vonnegut, and my distanced fracture quality is all from Amy Hempel, who's probably my favourite writer.
Quote examples
John Henrik Clarke
American Author
All the working-class people could feel a Malcolm X. They could hear Malcolm X, and two weeks later they could whisper back what he said. Verbatim. They could remember the way he put it, and he put it so well.
Quote examples
Shepard Fairey
American Artist
I do think that copyrights and intellectual property are important - it's important to be able to keep people from making verbatim copies of a particular creation that could somehow hurt the creator.
Quote examples
Al Michaels
American Entertainer
I will never repeat something verbatim on the air unless I know it's accurate. And when you go to the source, sometimes there's a better story beyond the original story. That happens all the time.
Quote examples
James Herriot
British Writer
I was helped by having a verbatim memory of what happened years ago, even if I can't remember what happened a couple of days ago.
Quote examples
Thomas Bailey Aldrich
American Poet
True art selects and paraphrases, but seldom gives a verbatim translation.
Quote examples
Jon Richardson
English Comedian
I certainly tried to talk about less complex things, but I've had to accept that it's just not what I do. That isn't to say that my shows are depressing - they aren't. At least, I hope they aren't! The problem I have with stories about happy things is that they don't require any skill from a comic - they just repeat the details verbatim.
Quote examples
Elizabeth McCracken
American Author
Ordinarily, I'd claim that I'd never write directly about my children, but the opening conversation of 'Peter Elroy' is a verbatim conversation that my children had that I just loved: morbid, funny, passionate, and obsessed with the truth of things - all natural qualities of children that I'd like my work to contain.
Quote examples
Evan Osnos
American Journalist
Over the centuries, Chinese bureaucrats perfected the dark arts of emptiness to such an extent that when they deliver speeches these days, they often recite verbatim speeches that they have previously delivered, with the sparest of adjustments.
Quote examples
Thomas Middleditch
Canadian Actor
I've spoken to people in Silicon Valley, and many times they have said to me, 'X storyline, or that thing that happened in your show - pretty much verbatim has happened to me.' And it's either identical or similar enough to be scary.
Quote examples
Chuck Palahniuk
American Novelist
If you take my stuff apart, you'll find my choruses of repetitions are picked up almost verbatim from Kurt Vonnegut, and my distanced fracture quality is all from Amy Hempel, who's probably my favourite writer.
Quote examples
John Henrik Clarke
American Author
All the working-class people could feel a Malcolm X. They could hear Malcolm X, and two weeks later they could whisper back what he said. Verbatim. They could remember the way he put it, and he put it so well.
Quote examples
Shepard Fairey
American Artist
I do think that copyrights and intellectual property are important - it's important to be able to keep people from making verbatim copies of a particular creation that could somehow hurt the creator.
Quote examples
Al Michaels
American Entertainer
I will never repeat something verbatim on the air unless I know it's accurate. And when you go to the source, sometimes there's a better story beyond the original story. That happens all the time.
Quote examples
James Herriot
British Writer
I was helped by having a verbatim memory of what happened years ago, even if I can't remember what happened a couple of days ago.
Quote examples
Thomas Bailey Aldrich
American Poet
True art selects and paraphrases, but seldom gives a verbatim translation.
Example 1 of 10
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