Skip to content
ontologydriven
Sign out

Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

in a word en · ADP

Etymology

From earlier in a worde, perhaps an alteration of Middle English at a worde (“in short, briefly, in a word”).

Meanings

  1. In summary.
    • Susan soon discovered her blind date to be mean, vulgar, obstreperous, presuming, and insulting; in a word, a cad.
    • Near-synonyms: all in all, altogether, briefly, concisely, in other words, in short, in sum, in total, overall, summarily; see also Thesaurus:in other words
    • In order to deliver the news of Greek victory to Athens, Pheidippides covered the distance there from the plain of Marathon as quickly as his two legs could carry him, and did so without making any stops; in a word, he ran the entire distance.
    • In a Word, to hint at no more Reaſons for his Conduct, Mr. Northerton was deſirous of departing that Evening, and nothing remained for him but to contrive the Quomodo, which appeared to be a Matter of ſome Difficulty. 1749, Henry Fielding, “The Conclusion of the foregoing Adventure”, in The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume III, London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, book VII, page 132:
    • He was suspicious, standoffish, taciturn; in a word, hostile.
    • Man, I got here by putting one foot in front of the other; in a word, I walked.

Relateds

in so many words · or words to that effect

Synonyms

in total · overall · in other words · briefly · concisely · in short · in sum · all in all · summarily · altogether

Translations (19)

lt žodžiu (briefly, concisely) · fi sanalla sanottuna (briefly, concisely) · pt numa palavra (briefly, concisely) · fi lyhyesti sanoen (briefly, concisely) · fr en un mot (briefly, concisely) · az bir sözlə (briefly, concisely) · ru одни́м сло́вом (briefly, concisely) · uk одни́м сло́вом (briefly, concisely) · is í einu orði sagt (briefly, concisely) · pl jednym słowem (briefly, concisely) · hy մի խոսքով (briefly, concisely) · is í stuttu máli (briefly, concisely) · is í einu orði (briefly, concisely) · hu egyszóval (briefly, concisely) · az əlqərəz (briefly, concisely) · az sözün qısası (briefly, concisely) · az xülasə (briefly, concisely) · cmn 總之 /总之 (briefly, concisely) · az müxtəsər (briefly, concisely)