annotate
gb/ˈænətˌeɪt/ us/ˈænətˌeɪt/
B2
English
~ 8900
Senses
0 senses
Verb
B2
action
1
Add notes that explain a text
to write short notes on or next to a text or picture to explain it or show your ideas
Usage pattern:
to annotate [a text/image/document] with [notes/comments]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes say *"annotate about the text"* instead of *"annotate the text"*. The verb usually takes the thing you write on as a direct object: *annotate the text/article/book*. If you mention the content of the notes, use *with*: *annotate the text with comments*. Learners also confuse *annotate* with *quote*; *annotate* means to add notes, not to repeat the original words.
Synonyms
comment on (focuses on giving an opinion, while "annotate" suggests brief written notes attached directly to the text.)
|
gloss (more formal and less common; often used for short explanations of difficult words in a text.)
Antonyms
leave unmarked (describes not adding any notes or comments to the text at all.)
Collocations
annotate a text
|annotate the margins
|annotate a document
|annotate a poem
|annotate an image
|annotate your notes
Themes
education
|writing
|research
|communication
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- Students were asked to annotate the article with their questions and reactions.
- She carefully annotated the novel, underlining key passages and writing comments in the margins.
- The teacher annotated the essay to show where the argument could be stronger.
- Scholars have extensively annotated this medieval manuscript to explain its references.
- You can annotate the PDF directly on your tablet during the meeting.
Learner examples
- Please annotate the text with short notes.
- I like to annotate books while I read them.
- The teacher will annotate your paper with helpful comments.
- He annotated the poem to show the main ideas.
Verb
technical
C1
action
2
Add labels or tags to data
to add labels or special notes to data, code, or files so that computers or people can use them more easily
Usage pattern:
to annotate [data/code/images] with [labels/tags/metadata]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes think this technical use only means "to write comments," but in computing it often specifically means to attach labels, tags, or metadata for processing. They may also say *"annotate on the data"* instead of *"annotate the data"* or *"annotate the data with labels"*.
Synonyms
label (very close in technical contexts, but "annotate" often suggests a more detailed or structured form of labeling.)
|
tag (common in social media and databases; usually implies short keywords, while "annotate" can include richer information.)
Antonyms
leave unlabeled (describes data or items that have no labels or tags at all, the opposite of annotating them.)
Collocations
annotate data
|annotate images
|annotate the dataset
|annotate training data
|annotate source code
|annotate records with tags
Themes
technology
|science
|business
|work
Examples
- We need to annotate thousands of images with the correct object categories for the machine-learning project.
- Developers use special tools to annotate source code with metadata and comments.
- The team spent weeks annotating the dataset with sentiment labels before training the model.
- Researchers manually annotated each audio file with the speaker’s language and accent.
- You can automatically annotate these records with tags based on their content.
Learner examples
- They will annotate the images with labels like "cat" or "dog".
- The company pays people to annotate data for AI systems.
- He learned how to annotate code so other programmers can understand it.
- We must annotate the files with tags before we search them.
Grammar
Dictionary form
annotate
IPA
GB/ˈænətˌeɪt/
US/ˈænətˌeɪt/
Syllables & stress
an - not - ate (3 syllables)
Stress on 1st syllable (an)
Word forms
Verb
- Base: annotate
- 3rd Person Singular: annotates
- Present Participle: annotating
- Past: annotated
Word family
Forms
annotates
verb
annotating
verb
annotated
verb
Core family
annotation
noun B1
Related words
annotator
noun
Negative and opposite forms
unannotated
adjective
Expressions
No expressions linked to this entry yet.