Definition

1. Verb:
   • To summarize or restate the main points of something: To concisely repeat or review the key elements, arguments, or stages of a discussion, presentation, or process.
   • To repeat an earlier theme in a musical composition: In music, to restate a principal theme, especially in a sonata form.
   • To repeat stages of evolutionary development during embryonic growth: In biology, for an embryo to pass through stages resembling or representing successive ancestral forms.

Usage and Examples

• Verb:
  • To summarize briefly: "Before we conclude, let me recapitulate the three key arguments from my thesis."
  • To repeat a musical theme: "The final movement recapitulates the main melody from the opening."
  • In biological development: "The human embryo is said to recapitulate certain phylogenetic stages."

Advanced Usage

• "To recapitulate on something": To provide a summary focusing on a particular aspect. (Note: "on" is sometimes used, though the verb is often transitive).
  • The manager asked her to recapitulate on the project's financial risks.

Variants and Related Words

• Recapitulation (noun): The act or an instance of recapitulating.
  • His closing speech was an effective recapitulation of the entire conference.
• Recapitulative (adjective): Serving to recapitulate.
  • The document's final page is recapitulative.

Synonyms

• Summarize: To give a brief statement of the main points.
• Recap (informal): A shortened form of 'recapitulate'.
• Reiterate: To say something again or a number of times, typically for emphasis or clarity.
• Review: To assess or examine something again.

Different Meanings / Contexts

1. General/Everyday Context: To summarize the main points.
   • The professor will recapitulate the lecture's core concepts next week.
2. Musical Context: To repeat a theme.
   • After the development section, the sonata recapitulates the exposition.
3. Biological Context (Ontogeny): To repeat evolutionary stages.
   • The theory that ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny is now considered an oversimplification.

Related Phrases / Idioms

• In recapitulation: Used to introduce a summary.
  • In recapitulation, our findings strongly support the initial hypothesis.

Verb

1. repeat an earlier theme of a composition
2. repeat stages of evolutionary development during the embryonic phase of life
3. summarize briefly
   • Let's recapitulate the main ideas