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outline

/ˈaʊtlaɪn/noun, verb2 syllables

Outline means: a sketchy summary of the main points of an argument or theory.

Synonyms for outline12

noun, as in a sketchy summary of the main points of an argument or theory

noun, as in a schematic or preliminary plan

schema, scheme

noun, as in the line that appears to bound an object

lineation

verb, as in describe roughly or briefly or give the main points or summary of

sketch, adumbrate

verb, as in trace the shape of

delineate, limn

verb, as in draw up an outline or sketch for something

also used for outline

reverse inline

Includes material from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

What does outline mean?6

noun

1

a sketchy summary of the main points of an argument or theory

2

a schematic or preliminary plan

3

the line that appears to bound an object

verb

1

describe roughly or briefly or give the main points or summary of“sketch the outline of the book”

2

trace the shape of

3

draw up an outline or sketch for something“draft a speech”

Definitions from the Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Outline in a sentence

  • The outline is indistinct, but it looks like the silhouette of a man.AlanF_US
  • Line art emphasizes form and outline, over color, shading, and texture.CM
  • He gave me a brief outline of the plan.CK
  • He gave me an outline of the affair.unknown
  • I gave him an outline of the incident.fjay69
  • Today we've decided to outline the department's plans for the next two years.Kar1na
  • Ziri saw the outline of a boat on the horizon.Amastan
  • Felix saw the outline of a massive grizzly bear.Amastan

Sentences from Tatoeba, CC BY 2.0 FR, credited to their authors.

Forms of outline

as a noun

plural
outlines

as a verb

past tense
outlined
present participle
outlining
third-person singular
outlines
past participle
outlined