Paraphrasing and rewriting

Paraphrasing tools reword text you already have. You paste a sentence or paragraph, choose a direction such as simpler, shorter, more formal or more fluent, and the tool returns versions that keep the meaning with different words. Some show several options side by side so you can pick the one that fits.

The honest uses are about your own writing. A sentence that sounds clumsy, an opening that repeats the one before it, or a paragraph that needs to fit a smaller space are all good jobs for a rewriter. Writers in a second language use these tools to check that a sentence sounds natural, and editors use them to find a plainer way to say something technical.

The risky use is rewording someone else's work so it looks original. Schools, journals and publishers treat that as plagiarism whether or not the words changed, and plagiarism checkers increasingly catch it. If the idea came from a source, cite the source. Paraphrasing tools do not remove that duty.

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4 AI writing tools in paraphrasing and rewriting

QuillBot

Paraphrasing tool with modes for tone and length, plus grammar checking, summarizing and citations.

  • Free plan or free tier
  • Browser extension
  • Works inside Word or Google Docs

Wordtune

by AI21 Labs

Suggests several rewrites of a sentence: shorter, longer, more formal or more casual.

  • Free plan or free tier
  • Browser extension

DeepL Write

by DeepL

DeepL's rewriting tool that suggests better wording and fixes errors in English and several other languages.

  • Free plan or free tier
  • Supports languages other than English

WordAi

Rewrites whole articles in bulk, aimed at content teams that need several versions of a text.

  • Developer API

Length and tone controls are the features that separate these tools in practice. Being able to ask for a shorter version, a more formal one or a simpler one covers most editing needs, and a slider for how much to change keeps the tool from rewriting a sentence you only wanted to nudge.

Quality checks still apply. A rewrite can shift meaning in small ways, drop a qualifier like "usually", or swap a technical term for a near synonym that is wrong in your field. Read the result against the original, line by line, before you keep it. For translation-style rewording across languages, a dedicated translation tool is often the better choice.

Questions about paraphrasing and rewriting

Is using a paraphrasing tool plagiarism?

Rewording someone else's ideas without credit is plagiarism, whatever tool does the rewording. Rewording your own draft is ordinary editing. When the idea or information comes from a source, cite it, even if the wording is new.

Can paraphrasing tools change my meaning?

Yes. They can drop qualifiers, swap technical terms for near synonyms or shift emphasis. Compare the rewrite with your original sentence by sentence, especially for legal, medical or technical text.

Do these tools work in other languages?

Some do. QuillBot and DeepL Write, for example, handle several languages besides English. Coverage and quality vary, so test the languages you need on your own text.

Which paraphrasing tool should I try first?

Start with one that offers a free tier and works where you write, such as a browser extension or a Word or Google Docs add-in. Run the same three or four sentences through two tools and keep the one that needs fewer fixes.

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