diction

dic·tion

noun \ˈdik-shən\

Definition of DICTION

1

obsolete : verbal description

2

: choice of words especially with regard to correctness, clearness, or effectiveness

3

a : vocal expression : enunciation b : pronunciation and enunciation of words in singing

— dic·tion·al \-shnəl, -shə-n^əl\ adjective

— dic·tion·al·ly \-ē\ adverb

Examples of DICTION

1. The actor's diction was so poor I could hardly understand what he was saying.
2. The student's essay was full of careless diction.
3. He has wisely chosen to render almost all the material in what novelists and writers of creative nonfiction like to call “close third person,” approximating the diction and consciousness of his characters but retaining the freedom to wander into the bigger picture. —Thomas Mallon, New York Times Book Review, 22 Feb. 2009
4. No one is better than Didion at using flatness of affect and formality of diction to convey seething anger and disdain. —New Yorker, 8 Oct. 2001
5. When he sang Anatol in the world premiere of Samuel Barber's Vanessa, in 1958, Gedda's performance received high marks for impeccable diction and enunciation—in that mostly American cast, he was the only principal whose English could be understood. —Patrick J. Smith, Opera News, November 1999

Origin of DICTION

Latin diction-, dictio speaking, style, from dicere to say; akin to Old English tēon to accuse, Latin dicare to proclaim, dedicate, Greek deiknynai to show, dikē judgment, right

First Known Use: 1581

Related to DICTION

Synonyms: articulation, enunciation

Related Words: elocution, expression, utterance; speech, wording

see all synonyms and antonyms

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Rhymes with DICTION

fiction, friction, stiction