synopsis
/sɪˈnɑpsɪs/noun
synopsis is spelled S-Y-N-O-P-S-I-S. The wrong spelling people search most is synopsys: about 1,760 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 2 in 10 of all searches for the word. Synopsis is a noun meaning “A brief summary of the major points of a written work, either as prose or as a table; an abridgment or…”. The plural of synopsis is synopses.
How many letters and syllables are in synopsis?
| Letters | 8: S-Y-N-O-P-S-I-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.4 times per million words; the 17,587th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 1; the most searched, synopsys, about 1,760 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How do you spell synopsis?
Synopsis is spelled S-Y-N-O-P-S-I-S. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 2 in 10 of the searches for synopsis in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is synopsis?
Synopsis appears 2.4 times per million words in written English, the 17,587th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce synopsis?
- UK /sɪˈnɒpsɪs/
- US /sɪˈnɑpsɪs/
Synopsis has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-synopsis.ogg, En-au-synopsis.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of synopsis
- synopses plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does synopsis mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A brief summary of the major points of a written work, either as prose or as a table; an abridgment or condensation of a work.
- 2
A reference work containing brief articles that taken together give an overview of an entire field.
- 3
A prayer book for use by the laity of the church.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate synopsis?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of synopsis: synop.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Synopsis in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense brief summary:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | abrégé, précis, résumé |
| German | Synopse, Übersicht, Zusammenfassung |
| Portuguese | resumo, sinopse |
| Spanish | resumen, sumario, sinopsis |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does synopsis come from?
From Late Latin synopsis, itself from Ancient Greek σύνοψις (súnopsis), from σύν (sún, “with or whole”) + ὄψις (ópsis, “view”) meaning whole view.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).