Synopsis vs. Summary – What’s The Difference? (+Examples)

When providing someone with a short version of a story, do you say “Synopsis” or “ Summary”? Some people treat those two words as synonyms, and we want to know if they really are.

Let’s look at each word and its description, to also figure out how we should use them.

Synopsis vs. Summary – What’s The Difference?

“Synopsis” is a short description of a movie or a book, while “Summary” is a condensed version of a work (like a movie or a book). It sounds very similar, as you probably noticed. In some cases those words might even be interchangeable.

Let’s take a look at some examples, before looking deeper and trying to find differences between those two words:

• The summary of the book gave away all the major plot points.
• The synopsis of the book gave away all the major plot points.

• The synopsis of the book interested the reader without giving much away.
• The summary of the book interested the reader without giving much away.

As you can see by the two sets of examples, interchanging the words “Summary” and “Synopsis” doesn’t deeply affect the meaning of the sentences. Quite likely, you could read or listen to any of the versions and still make perfect sense of it.

However, “Summary”, as a condensed version, usually indicates a longer description, while “Synopsis” tends to be very short and concise. In that light, for the first set “Summary” would be preferred, and for the second set, “Synopsis” would be a more accurate word to use.

Synopsis

A “Synopsis” sums up what a book or movie is about, with only a few words. Its purpose isn’t to give the story away or ruin any plot twists, but only to provide a general idea.

The goal of a “Synopsis” is to help the reader or viewer decide if they want to check out the full version.

The definition we find in The Cambridge Dictionary is the following: “a short description of contents of something such as a movie or a book”. Keep in mind that a “Synopsis” is always very short.

Here are some examples:

1. Alfred made sure the synopsis for his book was short and sweet.
2. The synopsis was designed to capture the attention of readers.
3. The author made sure the synopsis didn’t spoil the book.
4. Martha told me the show’s synopsis, which sounded interesting.
5. The synopsis of the show drew the attention of many viewers.

Summary

As a condensed version of a work, “Summary” has a function that is similar to the one of a “Synopsis”. However, “Summary” is usually longer and a bit more detailed than a ‘Synopsis”.

For example, the “abstract” of an academic work is a “Summary”. Unlike a “Synopsis” it contains the main points of the work, so the reader can decide to read the full version or not.

The Cambridge Dictionary corroborates that idea, defining “Summary” as “a short statement of the main ideas or facts in a report, discussion, etc.”

Let’s see “Summary” in use in some sentences:

1. After having read the summary, I understood the themes of the story.
2. The summary of the movie didn’t interest me.
3. She didn’t watch the show, as the summary explained everything that happened.
4. Could you give me a summary of the chapter? I haven’t done the reading.
5. A summary of the movie was provided to the parents.

Plot

A “Plot” is what a movie or book is about, in very few words. It tells us the outline of the story we’re about to see or read, without giving away any surprises.

The Cambridge Dictionary agrees with that description, and adds more meanings which aren’t connected to the context we’re looking at here.

Take a look at some examples:

1. What’s the plot of the show?
2. The plot is wild, with many twists and surprises.
3. Romeo and Juliet has quite a complicated plot.
4. All of her books had similar plots: cute couple meets, fights and in the end, gets back together.
5. The plot was way too simple, with no suspense or adventure.

Which Is Used the Most?

Which one of those words is used more often, “Synopsis”, “Summary” or “Plot”? Let’s see the graph from Google Ngram Viewer below and find out.

Right now, “Plot” is used more often than “Summary” and “Synopsis”. But the graph shows some very interesting facts.

First, “Plot” and “Synopsis” have been used just the same, with no big ups and downs, all along. “Summary” on the other hand, saw a huge increase in use around the 1980’s, and was the most used word for a long time.

Final Thoughts

“Summary” is a condensed version of a work, such as a book or movie. It tells us the main points of it. “Synopsis” is shorter than a “Summary”, giving an overall idea of what the story is, without giving away too much. “Plot” is basically what a story is about.