Meanings
in other words1
- conjunctiveidiomaticStated or interpreted another way; phrased differently Used to introduce an explanation, simplification, or clarification.
He has another appointment on Thursday. In other words, I don't think he'll be attending your gathering.
2 more examples
On Tuesday evening he sent a message to the office of the Stamford paper, requesting that, as the "mountain could not wait upon Mahomet, Mahomet would go to the mountain,"—or, in other words, that the printer would call upon him, and receive an order for executing some hand-bills announcing Mr. Lambert's arrival, and his desire to see company.
1809 July, “LINCOLNSHIRE.”, in The Universal Magazine (New Series), volume XII, number LXVIII, page 78, column 1Hanks is known as being an avid reader of history and biography, and seems to seek out stories which offer a certain optimism and humanism. In other words, he plays – fundamentally – good people.
2021 February 9, Christina Newland, “Is Tom Hanks part of a dying breed of genuine movie stars?”, in BBCSynonyms: to put it another way, put differently, that is to say, i.e.
in other words2
Synonyms & antonyms
prepositional phraseStated or interpreted another way; phrased differently Used to introduce an explanation, simplification, or clarification.
More synonyms by meaning
adverbotherwise stated
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Compare various calques such as Spanish en otras palabras, Portuguese em outras palavras, French en d'autres termes and Italian in altre parole.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic وَبِعِبَارَة أُخْرَى
- وَبِعِبَارَة أُخْرَى (wa-bi-ʕibāra ʔuḵrā)stated or interpreted another way
Bulgarian с дру́ги ду́ми
- с дру́ги ду́ми (s drúgi dúmi)stated or interpreted another way
Catalan en altres mots, en altres paraules
- en altres motsstated or interpreted another way
- en altres paraulesstated or interpreted another way
Chinese Cantonese 換句話說 /换句话说, 換言之 /换言之
- 換句話說 /换句话说 (wun⁶ geoi³ waa⁶ syut³)stated or interpreted another way
- 換言之 /换言之 (wun⁶ jin⁴ zi¹)stated or interpreted another way
Chinese Mandarin 換句話說 /换句话说, 就是說 /就是说
- 換句話說 /换句话说 (huànjùhuàshuō)stated or interpreted another way
- 就是說 /就是说 (jiùshìshuō)stated or interpreted another way
Czech jinými slovy
- jinými slovystated or interpreted another way
Danish med andre ord, m.a.o.
- med andre ordstated or interpreted another way
- m.a.o.stated or interpreted another way
Dutch zeg maar, met andere woorden
- zeg maarstated or interpreted another way
- met andere woordenstated or interpreted another way
Esperanto alivorte
- alivortestated or interpreted another way
Estonian teiste sõnadega
- teiste sõnadegastated or interpreted another way
Finnish toisin sanoen
- toisin sanoenstated or interpreted another way
French autrement dit, en d'autres termes
- autrement ditstated or interpreted another way
- en d'autres termesstated or interpreted another way
German mit anderen Worten, anders gesagt
- mit anderen Wortenstated or interpreted another way
- anders gesagtstated or interpreted another way
Greek με άλλα λόγια
- με άλλα λόγια (me álla lógia)stated or interpreted another way
Hungarian más szóval, vagyis
- más szóvalstated or interpreted another way
- vagyisstated or interpreted another way
Indonesian dengan kata lain
- dengan kata lainstated or interpreted another way
Italian in altre parole
- in altre parolestated or interpreted another way
Japanese つまり, と言うことは
- つまり (tsumari)stated or interpreted another way
- と言うことは (to iu koto wa)stated or interpreted another way
- 言い換えれば (iikaereba)stated or interpreted another way
Norwegian Bokmål med andre ord
- med andre ordstated or interpreted another way
Persian به عبارت دیگر
- به عبارت دیگرstated or interpreted another way
Polish innymi słowy
- innymi słowystated or interpreted another way
Portuguese em outras palavras, ou seja
- em outras palavrasstated or interpreted another way
- ou sejastated or interpreted another way
Romanian adică
- adicăstated or interpreted another way
Russian други́ми слова́ми, ина́че говоря́
- други́ми слова́ми (drugími slovámi)stated or interpreted another way
- ина́че говоря́ (ináče govorjá)stated or interpreted another way
- ины́ми слова́ми (inými slovámi)stated or interpreted another way
Slovak inými slovami
- inými slovamistated or interpreted another way
Spanish en otras palabras, o séase
- en otras palabrasstated or interpreted another way
- o séasestated or interpreted another way
Swedish med andra ord, m.a.o.
- med andra ordstated or interpreted another way
- m.a.o.stated or interpreted another way
Tagalog alalaong baga'y, sa ibang salita
- alalaong baga'ystated or interpreted another way
- sa ibang salitastated or interpreted another way
Turkish başka bir deyişle
- başka bir deyişlestated or interpreted another way
Ukrainian і́ншими слова́ми, іна́кше ка́жучи
- і́ншими слова́ми (ínšymy slovámy)stated or interpreted another way
- іна́кше ка́жучи (inákše kážučy)stated or interpreted another way
Vietnamese nói cách khác
- nói cách khácstated or interpreted another way
Welsh mewn geiriau eraill
- mewn geiriau eraillstated or interpreted another way
Cite this entry
in other words. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20other%20words
“in other words.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20other%20words. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “in other words,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20other%20words.
Source: in other words on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.