Recapitulatory

Recapitulatory is an adjective describing something that relates to or functions as a recap—i.e., it restates main points or summarizes prior material. It is most often used to refer to remarks, passages, or sections that condense earlier arguments or findings into a concise synthesis. The term is relatively rare in everyday speech and tends to appear in formal, literary, or scholarly writing. A recapitulatory passage might restate conclusions or trace the development of an argument to reinforce understanding, while a recapitulatory chapter or section in a nonfiction work would provide a brief synthesis of prior material.

Etymology and form: Recapitulatory derives from the Latin recapitulare, meaning to summarize or bring something back to a head, with the English suffix -ary or -ory forming the adjective. In English, it has historically appeared alongside the closely related form recapitulative; both spellings are encountered, though recapitulatory is less common.

Usage: In modern writing, clearer alternatives such as summarizing, recapitulative, or synoptic are often preferred. Recapitulatory is typically chosen for stylistic reasons or when a writer wishes to emphasize the act of recapitulation as a deliberate rhetorical move. It is not common in technical or scientific terminology outside contexts of rhetorical analysis or historiography.

See also: recapitulation, recapitulatio, summative, synoptic.