Parentheses \ / pəˈrɛnθɨsiːz \ / ( singular , parenthesis \ / pəˈrɛnθɨsɨs \ / ) ( also called simply brackets , or round brackets , curved brackets , oval brackets , or , colloquially , parens \ / pəˈrɛnz \ / ) contain material that could be omitted without destroying or altering the meaning of a sentence ( in most writing , overuse of parentheses is usually a sign of a badly structured text ) .
They are also called round brackets , curved brackets , oval brackets , or , colloquially , parens .