précis
noun
a concise summary.
précis
American
[prey-see, prey-see]
/ preɪˈsi, ˈpreɪ si /
noun
-
précis
plural
verb (used with object)
precis
British
/ ˈpreɪsiː /
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of précis
1750–60; < French, noun use of adj., literally, cut short. See precise
Explanation
A precis is a summary of something's main points. If you've ever jotted down notes about your main ideas before writing a persuasive essay, you've used a precis. Precis looks like precise, and of course, you always want your precis to be precise. But the words are pronounced differently. Precis comes from the French word précis, so say it like this: "PRAY see." Or you can accent the other syllable: "pray SEE." The s is only pronounced if the word is plural: "PRAY sees." The spelling stays the same.
Vocabulary lists containing precis
The Picture of Dorian Gray
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English Words Derived from French, List 11
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Vocabulary from the Lyrics of Stephen Sondheim, Volume I
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
As a précis to a larger, more scholarly work, it lacks the depth and historical context that many enthusiasts of classical drama may be hungry for.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026
Props, scripts, costumes and even a replica of the trailer from 1972’s “Pink Flamingos” serve as an immersive, chronological précis of Waters’s cinematic work.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2023
A zippy 1967 film by Jacques Tati, “Playtime,” has a scene that serves as a clean précis for “Figure It Out’s” credo.
From Washington Post ● May 11, 2020
The succinct catalog, produced when the piece was shown in her 2018 exhibition “Anti-Bodies” at the House of Electronic Arts in Basel, Switzerland, offers a clear précis of her thinking.
From New York Times ● Dec. 5, 2019
In any case the précis begins with these illuminating sentences: 94 ...
From The Fight For The Republic in China by B. L. (Bertram Lenox) Putnam Weale
A neat precis of Pakistan's World Cup campaign, overall.
From BBC ● Feb. 28, 2026
"The performances are accomplished. Norton gives us a soul broken into fragments. The play, inevitably can only deliver a precis of a book that sprawls over some 700 pages."
From BBC ● Apr. 6, 2023
In character as Bobby, the museum’s chief curator, Eichner gave a brief precis of Hirschfeld’s career, finishing with an ad-lib, “Tragically, he’s also my type.”
From New York Times ● May 18, 2022
Ministers have said they will publish only a precis of the advice.
From The Guardian ● Dec. 2, 2018
“That document, you understand,” said Poirot, “is a mere precis of the evidence we heard, arranged that way for convenience.”
From "Murder on the Orient Express" by Agatha Christie
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
