Parenthesis

Definitions

1. A clause, phrase or word which is inserted (usually for explanation or amplification) into a passage which is already grammatically complete, and usually marked off with brackets, commas or dashes.
   countable, uncountable
2. Either of a pair of brackets, especially (mainly US) round brackets, ( and ) (used to enclose parenthetical material in a text).
   countable, uncountable
3. A digression; the use of such digressions.
   countable, rhetoric, uncountable
4. Such brackets as used to clarify expressions by grouping those terms affected by a common operator, or to enclose the components of a vector or the elements of a matrix.
   countable, uncountable

Equivalents

53 more languages

العربيةالعلامة الحصرحشوقوسقَوْس m (plural: أَقْوَاس m pl, قَوْسَانِ+ 1 more

Azərbaycan dilimötərizə

Bosanskiuncazagradaзаграда

Catalàparèntesiparèntesis

Češtinavsuvkazávorka

Cymraegcromfach

Danskparentes

Ελληνικάπαρενθέσειςπαρένθεση

Esperantoparentezo

Eestikiil

فارسیپرانتزقلابقوس

Suomikaarisuljekaarisulkuparenteesisuljesulkeetsulkusulkumerkitsulkumerkkisulut+ 6 more

Gaeilgeidiraisnéislúibín

Gàidhligcamageadar-aisneiseadar-ràdh

עבריתסוגר

हिन्दीकोष्ठक

Hrvatskiuncazagradaзаграда

Magyarzárójel

Հայերենփակագիծ

Bahasa Indonesiakurung

Íslenskasvigi

Italianoparentesi

日本語括弧

ქართულიფრჩხილი

Қазақ тіліжақша

ភាសាខ្មែរវង់ក្រចក

한국어괄호

Kurdîparantez

Latinauncauncae

LëtzebuergeschKlamer

Македонскизаграда

മലയാളംവലയം

Монголхаалт

Bahasa Melayukurungtanda kurung

မြန်မာလက်သည်းကွင်း

Nederlandshaakjehaakjesparenthese

Polskinawiasnawiasyparentezawtrącenie+ 1 more

Portuguêsparênteseparênteses

Românăparanteză

Русскийвводное словокру́глая ско́бкаотклоне́ниеотступлениескобкаскобки+ 3 more

Slovenčinazátvorka

Slovenščinaoklepaj

Shqipkllapë

Српскиuncazagradaзаграда

Svenskaparentes

தமிழ்அடைப்புக்குறிஅடைப்புக்குறிகள்

ไทยความแทรกนขลิขิต

Türkmençeýaý

Tagalogpanaklong

Türkçeayraçparantez

ئۇيغۇرچەتىرناق

Українськадужка

Tiếng Việtngoặcngoặc đơn

Examples

“How expressive this little parenthesis: "Sakuntalâ makes a chiding gesture with her finger"!”

“There be five manner of points and divisions most used among cunning men; the which if they be well used, make⟳ the sentence very light⟳ and easy to be understood, both to the reader and hearer: and they be these, virgil,—come⟳,—parenthesis,—plain point⟳,—interrogative[…] it is a slender stroke leaning forward⟳, betokening a little short rest⟳, without any perfectness yet of sentence.”

“Whoever introduced the several points, it seems that a full-point, a point⟳ called come⟳, answering to our colon-point, a point⟳ called virgil answering to our comma-point, the parenthesis-points and interrogative-point, were used at the close⟳ of the fourteenth, or beginning of the fifteenth century.”

“[T]he present⟳ research⟳ also made an effort to approach⟳ a greater accuracy in presenting the original sources of borrowed words. This was achieved by presenting etymons from Hindustani in the Devanagari script followed by a transliteration in the Roman alphabet in parentheses.”

“Mr. Trevanion was one of those talkers, who are too much engrossed with their own⟳ subject matter⟳ to have⟳ much attention to bestow elsewhere; with them silence is attention. Ethel's wandering eye, and lip, tremulous with its effort to speak⟳, would never have⟳ attracted his notice⟳. To his utter astonishment, she interrupted a parenthesis, as brilliant as the rocket which it depicted, by saying,— "Mr. Trevanion, I do not know⟳ what you will think⟳ of my boldness, but I must speak⟳ to you."”

“Ryan Bingham (George Clooney): I thought I was a part of your life. Alex Goran (Vera Farmiga): I thought we signed up for the same thing[…] I thought our relationship was perfectly clear. You are an escape⟳. You're a break⟳ from our normal lives. You're a parenthesis. Ryan Bingham (George Clooney): I'm a parenthesis?”

CEFR level