parenthesis

/pəˈrɛnθəsəs/

/pəˈrɛnθəsɪs/

Other forms: parentheses; parenthesises

A parenthesis is a tall, curvy punctuation mark used to set off material that isn’t fundamental to the main topic, like an afterthought or an aside (or a funny joke).

Parenthesis marks come in pairs: the plural is spelled “parentheses.” Parentheses look like this: ( ). When you use parentheses to set off material in a sentence, you say that the material is “in parenthesis.” Put something in parentheses if it's a comment, an afterthought, or additional information that is possibly interesting but not essential to the subject. You can also describe something as a parenthesis, like a digressive story about horses in the middle of a political speech.

Definitions of parenthesis

1. noun

   either of two punctuation marks ( or ) used to enclose textual material
   type of:

   punctuation, punctuation mark

   the marks used to clarify meaning by indicating separation of words into sentences and clauses and phrases
2. noun

   a message that departs from the main subject
   synonyms: aside, digression, divagation, excursus, tangent

   type of:

   content, message, subject matter, substance

   what a communication that is about something is about