ENGLISH
REFERENCE

refer

v.
A2 Elementary Oxford US //ɹəˈfɝ// UK //ɹɪfˈɜː// re·fer General-service

v. to mention something or someone when you are speaking or writing. You use this to point your listener toward a specific person, place, or piece of information.

v. to mention or allude to a person, place, or thing; to direct attention toward a source of information. Intransitive when used with 'to'; transitive when used to direct a person to a source.


SIMPLE

Please refer to the map on page five.

CONTEXTUAL

The speaker did not refer to the recent scandal during her presentation.

COMPLEX

In his concluding remarks, the professor chose to refer to several obscure manuscripts that challenged the prevailing historical narrative of the era.

Synonyms
Origin

From Middle English referren, from Old French referer, from Latin referre. The noun (used in journalism) is from the verb. Doublet of relate. See also infer, collate and confer, delate and defer, as well as prelate and prefer among others.

Usage

Typically functions as an intransitive verb requiring the preposition 'to' before the object.

Pitfall

he referred the bookhe referred to the bookWhen meaning 'to mention', the verb is intransitive and must be followed by the preposition 'to'.

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