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Definition of verbatim
(Entry 1 of 2)
Definition of verbatim (Entry 2 of 2)
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Get Wordy With Verbatim
Latin has a phrase for "exactly as written": verbatim ac litteratim , which literally means "word for word and letter for letter." Like the verbatim in that Latin phrase, the English verbatim means "word for word." As you may have noticed, there's a verb in verbatim —and that's no mere coincidence. Both verb and verbatim are derived from the Latin word for "word," which is verbum . Other common English words that share this root include adverb , proverb , and verbose . Even the word word itself is related. Verbatim can also be an adjective meaning "being in or following the exact words" (as in "a verbatim report") and a rarer noun referring to an account, translation, or report that follows the original word for word.
- word for word
Example Sentences
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'verbatim.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback .
Word History
borrowed from Medieval Latin verbātim , from Latin verbum "word, verb entry 1 " + -ātim (as in nōminātim "by name, expressly," formed from -ātus , past participle suffix and -im , adverbial suffix)
adjective derivative of verbatim entry 1
15th century, in the meaning defined above
1613, in the meaning defined above
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Dictionary Entries Near verbatim
verbatim et litteratim
Cite this Entry
“Verbatim.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/verbatim. Accessed 7 Mar. 2023.
Kids Definition
Kids definition of verbatim, more from merriam-webster on verbatim.
Nglish: Translation of verbatim for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of verbatim for Arabic Speakers
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VERBATIM REPORT definition
Examples of verbatim report in a sentence.
And you have to prove the VERBATIM REPORT OF PROCEEDING; December 08, 2015 17 1 exigent circumstances.
A85/2002 VERBATIM REPORT : CONTRACTS AND ADJUSTMENT OF SALARY OF THE PERSONAL ASSISTANT TO THE EXECUTIVE MAYOR (5/3/2/1) (OFFICE OF THE SPEAKER) (MCA) (P 2 : ANNEXURES P 1 - 5) COUNCIL RESOLVED : (26 NOVEMBER 2002) 1.
More information regarding fiscal impacts will be presented at the next work session.
HAMMER, RPR, CCR 2512 VERBATIM REPORT OF PROCEEDING; December 08, 2015 2 1 A P P E A R A N C E S 2 3 FOR THE PLAINTIFFS: JAMES P.
Overall, the Committee acknowledges FHEC’s performance in 2015 with the hope that the recommendations will be given due consideration.SIGNATURES OF MEMBERS OF THE SOCIAL AFFAIRS STANDING COMMITTEE APPENDIXAPPENDIX 1: VERBATIMAPPENDIX 1: VERBATIM REPORT VERBATIM NOTES OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON SOCIAL AFFAIRS HELD IN THE COMMITTEE ROOM (EAST WING), PARLIAMENT PRECINTS, GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS, MONDAY, 7TH MAY, 2018 AT 2 P.M. Submittee: Fiji Higher Education Commission (FHEC) In Attendance 1.
Additionally, while Father was unable to have contact with Child from prison, he could have asked his family to communicate messages or deliver small gifts to Child.Also different from the situation in Doe, is the fact that Father was able to have contact with Child for several years before he was incarcerated.
Appendix I PECE Process: Policy for the Evaluation of Conservation Efforts, Federal Register 68, pages 15114-15115).
HAMMER, RPR, CCR 2512 VERBATIM REPORT OF PROCEEDINGS; March 02, 2017 2 1 2 A P P E A R A N C E S 3 4 FOR THE PLAINTIFF: PETER M.
VERBATIM REPORT OF PROCEEDINGS OF A MEETING WITH PSC HELD AT COUNTY HALL, NAIROBI ON 19TH FEBRUARY, 2004.
Related to VERBATIM REPORT
ESDM Report means the Emission Summary and Dispersion Modelling Report prepared in accordance with the Procedure Document by Alison Cumming (Golder Associates Ltd.) and dated February 11, 2008submitted in support of the application, and includes any amendments to the ESDM Report listed in Schedule A and all up-dated ESDM Reports prepared as required by the Documentation Requirements conditions of this Certificate.
GLJ Report means the independent engineering reserves evaluation of certain oil, NGL and natural gas interests of the Company prepared by GLJ dated February 11, 2022 and effective December 31, 2021.
Interim Report means a report identifying the contributions received and
MI Report means a report containing Management Information submitted to the Authority in accordance with Framework Schedule 8 (Management Information);
RBC report means the report required in 33-2-1903.
Payment Date Report means the accounting report defined as such in the Investment Management Agreement which is prepared by the Collateral Administrator (in consultation with the Investment Manager) on behalf of the Issuer and deliverable to the Issuer, the Trustee, the Investment Manager, the Initial Purchaser, any holder of a beneficial interest in any Note (upon written request of such holder) and each Rating Agency not later than the second Business Day preceding the related Payment Date.
Pick Up Report means the report detailing the number of sleeping rooms per day actually used out of the Program’s room block.
Section 404 Report means management’s report on “internal control over financial reporting” as defined by the SEC and the related attestation report of the independent certified public accountant as described in Section 3(A)(1).
Progress Report means the report similar in form and content to that attached hereto as Appendix III.
Current Report shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.3.
insider report means a statement required to be filed pursuant to Section 16 of the Exchange Act (or any successor provisions), by a person who is a director of the Corporation or who is directly or indirectly the beneficial owner of more than ten percent of the shares of the Corporation.
Monthly Report means a report, in substantially the form of Exhibit X hereto (appropriately completed), furnished by the Servicer to the Agent pursuant to Section 8.5.
CREFC® Operating Statement Analysis Report The monthly report in the “Operating Statement Analysis Report” format substantially in the form of and containing the information called for therein for the Mortgage Loans, or such other form for the presentation of such information as may be approved from time to time by the CREFC® for commercial mortgage securities transactions generally.
SOS Reports means the official reports from the Secretaries of State of each Collateral State, Chief Executive Office State and the Borrower State and other applicable federal, state or local government offices identifying all current security interests filed in the Collateral and Liens of record as of the date of such report.
Payment Date Statement means a report prepared by the Administrator setting forth certain information relating to the Reference Pool, the Notes, the Reference Tranches and the hypothetical structure described in the Offering Memorandum, which will be in such form as is required under the Offering Memorandum and otherwise as agreed upon between the Administrator and the Indenture Trustee.
Explanatory Statement means the explanatory statement which forms part of the Notice;
Compliance Statement is that certain statement in the form attached hereto as Exhibit B.
CMSA Operating Statement Analysis Report means a report substantially in the form of, and containing the information called for in, the downloadable form of the "Operating Statement Analysis Report" available as of the Closing Date on the CMSA Website or in such other form for the presentation of such information and containing such additional information as may from time to time be approved by the CMSA for commercial mortgage-backed securities transactions generally.
Assessment Report : means the assessment report referred to in Articles 32(2) and 33(3) of Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 drawn up by an independent third party fulfilling the requirements of ISO Standard 17011 or by a relevant competent authority, which includes information on document reviews, including the descriptions referred to in Articles 4(3)(b) and 11(3)(b) of this Regulation, on office audits, including critical locations and on risk-oriented witness audits conducted in representative third countries.
CREFC® Reconciliation of Funds Report A monthly report substantially in the form of, and containing the information called for in, the downloadable form of the “Reconciliation of Funds Report” available as of the Closing Date on the CREFC® Website or in such other form for the presentation of such information and containing such additional information as may from time to time be recommended by the CREFC® for commercial mortgage-backed securities transactions generally; provided that, to the extent that such other form contemplates such additional information, such other form must be reasonably acceptable to the Certificate Administrator.
Operating Statement Analysis Report format substantially in the form of and containing the information called for therein for the Mortgage Loans, or such other form for the presentation of such information as may be approved from time to time by the CREFC® for commercial mortgage securities transactions generally.
Monthly Progress Report means the report similar in form and content attached hereto as Appendix III.
Auditor’s Report means the auditor’s report on the Financial Report; “AEDT” means Australian Eastern Daylight Time.
Form 8-K Disclosure Information As defined in Section 10.07 of this Agreement.
Annual Accountant’s Report is defined in Section 3.04(a) of the Servicing Agreement.
Final Report means the final report summarizing the outcomes of the Project, to be completed by the Applicant in the standard form no later than thirty (30) days after the Project Completion Date. The Final Report must provide accounting for all Project revenues and expenses, and include a concise summary of what the project has achieved, and compare the outcomes and performance of the Project with reference to the desired outcomes specified by Alberta Innovates, and the desired Project outcomes as stated in the Application and in this Investment Agreement;
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Origin of verbatim
Words nearby verbatim, words related to verbatim, how to use verbatim in a sentence.
The Ministry of Truth’s employees were in charge of writing down the most negative things about Big Brother they could, by transcribing verbatim what came out of his mouth, and that seemed unfair to Winston.
This is one of those films I hope people will know thoroughly and verbatim .
At least three federal documents, including a 2019 report, repeat almost verbatim the project application’s claims for visitation, job creation and revenue generation.
You may want to sacrifice smooth readability occasionally for long-tail keywords verbatim .
Cajon Valley Union officials told me the same thing, almost verbatim , after they were able to bring some students back to campus.
I have it on good authority these quotes are 100 percent accurate, if not 100 percent verbatim .
But most of all he loved Monty Python and would regularly repeat their hilarious sketches verbatim .
He stuck them in his pocket, and would later copy them, almost verbatim , into his novel.
These and other famous pieces of revolutionary rhetoric repeat lines from the play more or less verbatim .
Check out this devastating Obama ad on that point, with regular citizens reading verbatim Romney's explanation.
And the conversations I can reproduce almost verbatim , for, according to my invariable habit, I kept full notes of all he said.
His chief guide is Julius Cæsar, whom he frequently quotes verbatim .
He (Stopford) wrote it down, in the ante-room, the moment he left the presence and I may take it as being as good as verbatim .
His editorial was the "Courier's" leader, and it appeared verbatim et literatim.
Mr. Drury can not claim to have recorded verbatim Prof. Vaughn's remarks, but has endeavored to give the substance.
British Dictionary definitions for verbatim
Word origin for verbatim.
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- Language careers
- Verbatim reporting

The Verbatim Reporting Service produces official – verbatim, or word-for-word – records, in the six official languages of the United Nations (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish), of intergovernmental bodies of the United Nations that are entitled to receive this type of meeting record, such as the General Assembly, the Security Council, the First Committee, the Disarmament Commission and other bodies.
Verbatim records
Verbatim records are part of the institutional memory of the United Nations. Also referred to as procès-verbaux (or PVs), verbatim records are issued simultaneously in the six official languages. They serve as a record of who spoke at a meeting, what exactly was said and what was decided, and serve as the edited transcript of the proceedings. Each language version contains the statements delivered in that language and translations of the statements given in the other languages.
Role of verbatim reporters
Verbatim reporters translate and edit speeches delivered by delegates, using written statements and digital audio recordings for reference. Combining the skills of translation, transcription, editing and fact-checking, verbatim reporters ensure the substantive accuracy of all statements given at a meeting while maintaining a uniformly high standard of style. They correct grammatical errors, specify the order of presentations without changing the meaning, verify quotations and insert necessary references, and check facts and details against the documentation of the body concerned and all available databases. According to the rules of procedure of the body concerned, they work under tight deadlines: records of meetings are issued within a few days, or even overnight in the case of Security Council meetings.
Working methods
In accordance with prescribed models for parliamentary procedures, verbatim reporters employ standardized formulas when dealing with procedural matters and the conduct of voting. They must be thoroughly up to date on all matters discussed in meetings of intergovernmental bodies, which often requires extensive research in different areas. Their work represents the permanent, historical record – in written form – of all oral statements made at a meeting. Whereas in the past it was necessary for verbatim reporters to be present at all meetings, they are now able to work from digital sound recordings of meetings, which are transmitted electronically.
Skills required
In addition to excellent language skills in at least three official languages, verbatim reporters are expected to have knowledge of a broad range of subjects dealt with by the United Nations, that is, in the political, social, economic, disarmament, counter-terrorism, legal, humanitarian, peacekeeping, financial and administrative, scientific and technical fields. All verbatim reporting posts are located at United Nations Headquarters in New York.
General Assembly
- Rules of procedure of the General Assembly
- General Assembly PVs
First Committee
Pursuant to rule 58 (a) of the rules of procedure of the General Assembly , the First Committee is the only Main Committee of the Assembly entitled to verbatim records.
First Committee verbatim records can be found by searching the document symbol for verbatim records (A/C.1/[number of the session of the General Assembly]/PV.[number]) on the Official Document System or through the search engine provided on the website of the Assembly.
Security Council
- Provisional rules of procedure of the Security Council
- Security Council verbatim records
Meetings coverage
- UN Web TV
- United Nations meetings coverage and press releases
Recruitment
- Competitive examinations for language professionals (UN Careers)
- Competitive examinations for language professionals (HR Portal)
- Editorial and desktop publishing
- Remote participation requirements
- Précis-writing
- Production editing
- Translation
Look up a word, learn it forever.
Repeat something you've read or heard precisely word-for-word, and you have just quoted it verbatim . That's great if what you deliver verbatim is the directions on how to defuse a bomb, but not a good idea if you're cheating on a test and copying someone's answer verbatim .
As a word, verbatim is powerful for its precision. When you can say that you are repeating someone's words verbatim , it means every single word is exactly what was said. If you write something down verbatim , you can rely on it being a duplicate of the original document, recreated. Repeating words verbatim in your own writing can be tricky business. Without attributing the original author, verbatim can be the damning evidence of plagiarism.
- adverb using exactly the same words “he repeated her remarks verbatim ” synonyms: word for word
- adjective in precisely the same words used by a writer or speaker “repeated their dialog verbatim ” synonyms: direct exact marked by strict and particular and complete accordance with fact
Vocabulary lists containing verbatim

Following a wave of antisemitic attacks, fifteen-year-old Orthodox Jew Hoodie Rosen faces the ire of his family and community when he falls in love with a non-Jewish girl.

Based loosely on the classic I, Claudius by Robert Graves, this novel follows Claudia McCarthy's rise to power in the Honors Council and Student Senate at Imperial Day Academy.
While going through notes left by his late Uncle George, Francis Thurston accidentally uncovers a series of dark secrets about an ancient creature.
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Meaning of verbatim in English
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- I can remember lines from movies verbatim.
- I know somebody who talks about their co-worker's private phone conversations verbatim.
- Orlov claimed that Khrushchev had lifted whole paragraphs verbatim from the Russian-language version of his book .
- authoritative
- got it in one! idiom
- in so many words idiom
- strictly speaking idiom
- superaccurate
- synchronization
- technically
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Improve your vocabulary with English Vocabulary in Use from Cambridge. Learn the words you need to communicate with confidence.
- These are verbatim quotations , not paraphrases .
- The verbatim copying of recipes online is violation of the copyright of the original author .
- What I wrote was verbatim - I'll never forgot what he said.
verbatim | Intermediate English
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- 1.1 Etymology
- 1.2 Pronunciation
- 1.3.1 Synonyms
- 1.3.2 Derived terms
- 1.3.3 Related terms
- 1.3.4 Translations
- 1.4.1 Synonyms
- 1.4.2 Derived terms
- 1.4.3 Translations
- 1.5.1 Translations
- 1.6 See also
- 1.7 References
- 1.8 Anagrams
- 2.1 Pronunciation
- 3.1 Etymology
- 3.2 Pronunciation
- 3.3.1 Descendants
- 3.4 References
English [ edit ]
Etymology [ edit ].
Attested in English since 1481 [1] (therefore considered a Middle English derivation by some [2] ): from Medieval Latin verbātim ( “ word for word ” ) [1] [2] [3] [4] , from Latin verbum ( “ word ” ) [1] [2] [3] [4] + -ātim ( adverbial suffix ) [4] .

Pronunciation [ edit ]
- ( Received Pronunciation ) IPA ( key ) : /vɜːˈbeɪ.tɪm/ [3]
- ( US ) IPA ( key ) : /vɚˈbeɪ.tɪm/
Adverb [ edit ]
verbatim ( not comparable )
- 1971 , Denis Mahon, Studies in Seicento Art and Theory , p317 [ … ] in several instances Mancini’s text is virtually reproduced verbatim by Bellori. 120
- 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare , “ The First Part of Henry the Sixt ”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies [ … ] ( First Folio ), London: [ … ] Isaac Iaggard , and Ed[ward] Blount , published 1623, OCLC 606515358 , [Act III, scene i]: I [ … ] am not able Verbatim to rehearse the method of my pen
Synonyms [ edit ]
- in so many words
- word for word
Derived terms [ edit ]
- verbatim et literatim
Related terms [ edit ]
Translations [ edit ], adjective [ edit ].
- Date unknown : Joint Committee on Printing Congress of the United States, General Statement of Procedure for Verbatim Reporting of Proceedings in Senate Chamber , page five:
- 1917 , Andreĭ Ivanovich Shingarev, Russia and Her Allies: Extract from the Verbatim Report of the Imperial Duma, IV th Session, 16 th Sitting , page 3:
- 2002 , Michael Quim Patton, Qualitative Research & Evaluation Methods , p381 Ironically, verbatim note taking can interfere with listening attentively.
- U.S. Department of Labor's description of court reporter's job: Some States require voice writers to pass a test and to earn State licensure. As a substitute for State licensure, the National Verbatim Reporters Association offers three national certifications to voice writers: Certified Verbatim Reporter (CVR), the Certificate of Merit (CM), and Real-Time Verbatim Reporter (RVR). Earning these certifications is sufficient to be licensed in States where the voice method of court reporting is permitted.
- ( (of a document) faithful to its original ) : word for word , to the letter
- nonverbatim
- verbatimness
Noun [ edit ]
verbatim ( plural verbatims )
- A word-for-word report of a speech.
See also [ edit ]
- ipsissima verba
References [ edit ]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Online Etymology Dictionary , © 2001 Douglas Harper
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 The American Heritage ® Dictionary of the English Language , Fourth Edition
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 The Concise Oxford English Dictionary [Eleventh Edition]
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1·1)
Anagrams [ edit ]
French [ edit ].
verbatim m ( plural verbatim )
Latin [ edit ]
From verbum ( “ word ” ) + -ātim .
- ( Classical ) IPA ( key ) : /u̯erˈbaː.tim/ , [u̯ɛrˈbäːt̪ɪ̃ˑ]
- ( Ecclesiastical ) IPA ( key ) : /verˈba.tim/ , [verˈbäːt̪im]
verbātim ( not comparable )
- verbatim , word for word
Descendants [ edit ]
- verbatim in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
Portuguese [ edit ]
- verbatim ( word for word ) Synonyms: à letra , palavra por palavra , ipsis litteris
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Words Starting With
Words ending with, unscrambles, words starting with v and ending with m, word length, words near verbatim in the dictionary.
- verbascoside
- verbascum-thapsus
- verbatim-et-literatim
- verbenaceae
What does “verbatim” mean?
The word “verbatim” is a very common word among the reporting, transcription, and subtitling professions. “Verbatim” is not just a technical term, it is also a term used in everyday language. To understand how popular it is, try to search for “verbatim” and some other common words on Google. You will get 74,000,000 results for “verbatim”, against 14,900,000 results for “captioning”, and 50,200,000 for “typewriter”, for example. “The Beatles” is just a little more popular than “verbatim”, with 77,700,000 results!
But what does “verbatim” mean? To start answering this question, the easiest thing to do is looking at the definition. All main online dictionaries provide more or less the same definition of “verbatim”: “in exactly the same words as were used originally ” ( Oxford Languages ). The website of the British Institute of Verbatim Reporters (BIVR) provides more details, adding that the same words as the original should be “in the same order”. So far, nothing difficult to understand, but then the BIVR website explains that: “Repeating something verbatim should preserve the entire meaningof the original statement.”
This poses other questions. Are we sure that writing down what is said by somebody manages to preserve the same meaning? Further, are we sure that, when taking out all non-verbal features of spoken language, such as intonation, accent, volume, gestures, facial expressions and so on, we understand the same meanings as were expressed orally? If we think of the many times that we do not manage to properly communicate with a person with whom we are chatting, we realise that this is not always the case. “A moment’s reflection”, adds the BIVR website, “will show that even matter which has to be transcribed in a strictly verbatim manner has to go through an editingprocess if only to the extent of being punctuated.”
The last question concerns the notion of a word: what does the word “word” mean? The most popular definition says that a word is “a single unit of language that has meaning and can be spoken or written” ( Cambridge Dictionary ). The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy provides a more technical definition and explains that words are “the smallest linguistic [phonemic or graphemic] expressions that are conventionally associated with a … meaning”. While we all agree on words such as “house”, “love”, or “dog” used in a non-ambiguous context, what about non-conventional linguistic units used in non-conventional contexts? Think of irony, which may signify the opposite of the conventional meaning of a word; think of non-phonological or non-verbal utterances such as “pfff” when used as an expression of annoyance or disappointment; or think of parts of words used to mean something without saying the whole word (e.g. “what the f…?”). On the contrary, are conventional words always meaningful in a traditional sense? Think of lapsus, other unintentionally uttered words, or words used as fillers, such as “you know”, “kind of” and “you see”.
Recently, I have carried out an experiment for the BIVR, the results of which are yet to be published. In the forthcoming publication, I will show that professionals in the field of diamesic translation, including court reporters, live captioners, and transcribers, in fact “translate” spoken words to the written form in ways that can sometimes produce different meanings. The following are examples of conflicting transcriptions of the same spoken utterance:
- For-, for-, for-, fortunately… Vs Fortunately…
- The movie was about the old English teacher, Lilly. Vs The movie was about the Old-English teacher, Lilly.
- I also like the scene where Irish gangsters fight O’Sheen, Connor and Adam. Vs I also like the scene where Irish gangsters fight: O’Sheen, Connor and Adam.
- It was a line, mwah! Ridiculous! Vs It was a ridiculous line.
These examples show that the notion of word is vague, as what some professionals consider a word other professionals do not (e.g. “For-”, “mwah”), or translate the same spoken output as a single word or as two (e.g. Old-English vs old English). Moreover, they show that the process of transcribing every single word of a spoken utterance in exactly the same order does not always provide the same meaning, as punctuation may provide a different meaning for the same set of words (e.g. see example 3). Finally, they show that the same order is not always preserved if the professional thinks that the intention of the speaker would be altered (see example 4). Further to these examples, another interesting result concerns fillers, which were considered by all volunteers in the experiment as words to be included in a verbatim transcript, rather than omitted (e.g. “As last time we also had, you know , the same food”).
As can be seen from these examples, the notion of “verbatim” is strictly related to the notions of word, meaning, and editing that pertain to each profession and personal interpretation of the same spoken output. This means that the concept of verbatim cannot be limited to “in exactly the same words in the same order as were used originally”. Even the professional definition of the word “verbatim” provided by the BIVR website and detailed research does not manage to provide an objective understanding of what the editing process of a verbatim transcript should be, as it involves not only punctuation, but also lexis, word order and meaning. In light of this experiment, meaning should be the focus of any definition of verbatim, unless the diamesic translation community agrees that it should not be taken into consideration, as editing – punctuation included as shown in the experiment – may be too subjective and in conflict with the notion of “word for word”.
Carlo Eugeni is the chairman of Intersteno Scientific Committee and Tiro’s scientific advisor.
Veramente molto interessante, grazie Carlo per questo tuo contributo! Mandalo a “Specializzazione”! Luigi
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ISSN 2684-5989

How Verbatim is Verbatim?
Posted on 10.01.2015.

By definition, verbatim means “in exactly the same words as were used originally,” but is that really how medical transcription and editing is performed? More specifically, is that what is expected when sitting for pre-employment tests? In a word: No. Let’s look at why as it relates to the goal of the medical record.
The goal of the medical record is to provide a clear picture of past and current history and treatment, contraindications, and future treatment plans. With that in mind, think about how transcribing every single word the author of the report dictates might affect that goal.
For example, you have likely heard dictated something similar to this: Transcriptionist, please add hypertension to the diagnosis . According to the definition stated in the outset, the transcriptionist would be required to type that exact sentence, word for word, right where it was dictated. Hypertension would never actually be added to the diagnosis list; it would simply linger within this strange little sentence somewhere midway through the report. Certainly this would not contribute to the goal of the medical record.
The same reasoning can be applied to other scenarios, such as when an author starts to dictate a report but then realizes he’s dictating for the wrong patient and starts the report over or when he stumbles over words or restates the same sentence.
If strict verbatim—verbatim according to the definition—is not how a medical report should be transcribed, then how verbatim is verbatim?
Again, keeping the goal in mind, consider these general rules of thumb:
- Make minor edits to correct grammar and punctuation.
- Follow the author’s dictation style as long as the meaning is clear.
- Flag anything that may require major editing (for example: ambiguous or incoherent sentence structure).
- Flag contradictory or questionable information (left/right, unverifiable medication dose, critical lab value not mentioned elsewhere in the report, etc.).
- Expand abbreviations that are part of the patient’s diagnosis under diagnosis-type headings (assessment, impression, etc.).
- Expand abbreviations that are part of the procedure list in operative reports.
- Transcribe headings as dictated.
- Flag incorrect terminology and headings if the correct term or heading cannot be determined.
- Omit exact redundancies ( This morning the patient presented to this office this morning .) but transcribe similar information as dictated ( Informed consent was obtained . A timeout was performed after informed consent was obtained. ).
Remember, the goal is for an easily understood medical record, so avoid the extremes of turning it into a novel by over-editing and of leaving it an incoherent mess by under-editing. By doing so, you will maintain the integrity of the medical record and its author’s style while adhering to the instruction to transcribe verbatim.


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A direct report is an employee who reports directly to someone else. For example, a director might have five managers who report directly to him. They are considered his direct reports. However, those people who work for each manager are no...
A feasibility report is the result of a detailed examination of a proposed idea, project or business to determine if it is likely to be successful. It is used in business, banking, manufacturing, science and other areas. Some financial inst...
The definition of report writing is creating an account or statement that describes in detail an event, situation or occurrence, usually as the result of observation or inquiry. The two most common forms of report writing are news report wr...
Even the word word itself is related. Verbatim can also be an adjective meaning "being in or following the exact words" (as in "a verbatim report") and a rarer
Define VERBATIM REPORT. means a report in the first person reflecting the exact.
corresponding word for word to the original source or text: a verbatim record of the proceedings. skilled at recording or noting down speeches, proceedings
Also referred to as procès-verbaux (or PVs), verbatim records are issued simultaneously in the six official languages. They serve as a record of who spoke at a
If you repeat something verbatim, you use exactly the same words as were used originally. The president's speeches are regularly reproduced verbatim in the
Repeat something you've read or heard precisely word-for-word, and you have just quoted it verbatim. That's great if what you deliver verbatim is the directions
using exactly the same words that were originally used: Speeches were reported verbatim and often ran to several columns.
Word for word; in exactly the same words as were used originally. quotations ▽. I have copied his speech verbatim, so this is exactly what he said, word for
A word-for-word report of a speech. Wiktionary. Advertisement. Other Word
The word “verbatim” is a very common word among the reporting, transcription, and subtitling professions. “Verbatim” is not just a technical
By definition, verbatim means “in exactly the same words as were used originally,” but is that really how medical transcription and editing