What does annotate mean?
Word: Annotate
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Annotate means to add short notes or comments to a text, map or diagram to explain it.
Synonyms: comment on, mark up
How do you spell annotate?
Syllables: an - no - tate
Tricky part: There are two n's at the start. Many students write anotate because they hear only one n when the word is said quickly.
Watch out for: anotate, anottate
Memory tip: Annotate comes from Latin ad, 'to', and nota, 'a note': the d of ad turned into an n before nota, which is why two n's stand together.
Annotate in a sentence
Example 1: Dadaji annotates every newspaper crossword with tiny pencil marks.
Example 2: The scientist annotated each photograph with the date and place it was taken.
Example 3: Please annotate the school map so that visitors can find the canteen.
Fun Fact
Readers in medieval Europe often annotated books in the margins, and these handwritten notes, called marginalia, are now studied by historians almost as closely as the books themselves.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
annot_t_
a) i, e
b) a, e
c) a, i
d) e, e
Show answer
b) a, e. The word ends in ate, the verb ending heard in create and translate.
Mingle-Mangle
Rearrange the jumbled letters in the sentence to form the right word:
Before the debate, Meher had to aontneat the article with her own questions in the margin.
a) annotate
b) animate
c) attenuate
d) alternate
Show answer
a) annotate. The jumble holds two n's, two t's and an o; animate has no o, alternate needs an l and an r, and attenuate a u.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word annotate as used in the sentence:
Annotate the diagram of the flower with the names of its parts.
a) erase
b) trace
c) label
d) colour
Show answer
c) label. Here annotating the diagram means writing the names beside its parts, which is labelling it.
Spell-o-Spell
Three words in the list are spelt correctly. Choose the meaning of the misspelt word.
1. annotate 2. sumarise 3. paraphrase 4. underline
a) to give the main points of something in a few words
b) to add notes that explain a text
c) to draw a line beneath a word
d) to say the same thing in different words
Show answer
a) to give the main points of something in a few words. Summarise has a double m; annotate, paraphrase and underline are spelt correctly.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. An annotated copy of a textbook is one that has ____.
a) notes written beside the text
b) its pages in a new order
c) a hard, shiny cover
d) pictures printed in colour
Show answer
a) notes written beside the text
2. Why might an actor annotate a script?
a) to make the pages easier to fold
b) to mark where to pause and breathe
c) to sell it on to another theatre
d) to keep the lines secret from others
Show answer
b) to mark where to pause and breathe
