recapitulation
noun
re·ca·pit·u·la·tion
ˌrē-kə-ˌpi-chə-ˈlā-shən 
1
: a concise summary
2
: the hypothetical occurrence in an individual organism's development of successive stages resembling the series of ancestral types from which it has descended so that the ontogeny of the individual retraces the phylogeny of its group
3
: the third section of a sonata form
Synonyms
Examples of recapitulation in a Sentence
will begin his presentation with a recapitulation of the research done on the disease up to this point
Recent Examples on the Web
What had formed on the narrow little patch of dirt in Albuquerque was a recapitulation of the most basic human instincts at the heart of ordinary everyday life; when faced with uncertainty and danger, people naturally cling together and form communities which become more complex and orderly.
—
Roger Valdez, Forbes, 5 Dec. 2024
As the Barber’s first movement rounds the corner into the recapitulation section, the soloist has a few precious seconds to breathe as the orchestra sings out the main tune.
—Hannah Edgar, Chicago Tribune, 20 Sep. 2024
Here, Hondo begins a large-scale recapitulation, in a handful of scenes, of the grimly infuriating history of French colonialism from the seventeenth century to the twentieth, and of a reliance on slave labor that lasted in the Caribbean colonies until the mid-nineteenth century.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 20 Mar. 2024
The life cycle of the frog resembles a recapitulation of fish becoming amphibians, over eons.
—Rivka Galchen, The New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2023
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Roger Valdez, Forbes, 5 Dec. 2024
As the Barber’s first movement rounds the corner into the recapitulation section, the soloist has a few precious seconds to breathe as the orchestra sings out the main tune.
—Hannah Edgar, Chicago Tribune, 20 Sep. 2024
Here, Hondo begins a large-scale recapitulation, in a handful of scenes, of the grimly infuriating history of French colonialism from the seventeenth century to the twentieth, and of a reliance on slave labor that lasted in the Caribbean colonies until the mid-nineteenth century.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 20 Mar. 2024
The life cycle of the frog resembles a recapitulation of fish becoming amphibians, over eons.
—Rivka Galchen, The New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2023
See all Example Sentences for recapitulation
Dictionary Entries Near recapitulation
Cite this Entry
“Recapitulation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/recapitulation. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
recapitulation
noun
re·ca·pit·u·la·tion
ˌrē-kə-ˌpich-ə-ˈlā-shən
: the supposed repetition in the development of the individual of its phylogenetic history see recapitulation theory
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