recitation
Americannoun
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an act of reciting.
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a reciting or repeating of something from memory, especially formally or publicly.
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oral response by a pupil or pupils to a teacher on a prepared lesson.
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a period of classroom instruction.
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an elocutionary delivery of a piece of poetry or prose, without the text, before an audience.
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a piece so delivered or for such delivery.
noun
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the act of reciting from memory, or a formal reading of verse before an audience
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something recited
Other Word Forms
- nonrecitation noun
Etymology
Origin of recitation
1475–85; < Latin recitātiōn- (stem of recitātiō ), equivalent to recitāt ( us ) (past participle of recitāre to recite ) + -iōn- -ion
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She could play chess, divide fractions, write in cursive, and do a strong-voiced recitation of at least three different Shakespearean sonnets.
From Literature
At Paul Revere Junior High, Russell won first place at a Shakespeare Festival for his sonnet recitation.
From Los Angeles Times
On the outside, it seems like it’s a quiet, calm ballad as it opens; Ellis on guitar, a recitation of the story of "a girl who’s got no history / got no past."
From Salon
Just as Lorca embodies Lorca, Wainwright threads recitations of Lord Byron’s 1816 “Darkness,” throughout a score otherwise based on the traditional Latin requiem text.
From Los Angeles Times
At noon, the ceremony began with a recitation of Winston Churchill's famous VE Day speech by actor Timothy Spall.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
