annotation

12 synonyms for annotation, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.

Noun — A note added to a text, diagram or image to explain or comment on part of it.

Synonyms

Everyday swaps

Common words most readers know — safe in any writing.

note comment

Less common

Still standard English, but they carry more weight.

gloss notation tagging attribute

Rare, literary or technical

Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.

marginalia annotating labelling marking up decorator metadata tag

Synonyms by Meaning

1. noun

A note added to a text, diagram or image to explain or comment on part of it.

“Her annotations fill every margin of the paperback.”

note comment gloss marginalia annotating notation

2. noun

The act or process of adding such notes, or of labelling data so it can be searched or used to train software.

“Annotation of the manuscript took three years.”

labelling tagging marking up

3. noun technical

In programming, a piece of metadata attached to code that tells a tool or framework how to treat it.

“The method is marked with an annotation that makes it run before every test.”

decorator attribute metadata tag

How to use annotation

The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.

marginal annotation annotated edition data annotation annotated bibliography

Neutral; common in academic, publishing and technical contexts.

Etymology

From Latin annotatio, from annotare 'to mark', from ad- 'to' and nota 'mark'.

Full origin of annotation →

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between an annotation and a footnote?

A footnote is a note printed at the foot of the page and tied to the text by a number, usually written by the author or editor for publication. An annotation is any explanatory note added to a text, including private notes a reader writes in the margin.

What is the difference between an annotation and a summary?

A summary condenses the whole of a text into a shorter version of it. An annotation is attached to a specific point in the text and adds something the text itself does not say, such as an explanation, a question or a cross-reference.

What is an annotated bibliography?

It is a list of sources in which each entry is followed by a short paragraph describing the source and assessing its usefulness. The annotations are what separate it from a plain reference list.

People also searched

note comment attribute notation gloss tagging decorator marginalia

Nearby words

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