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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of recitation
1475–85; < Latin recitātiōn- (stem of recitātiō ), equivalent to recitāt ( us ) (past participle of recitāre to recite ) + -iōn- -ion
Explanation
If you've ever repeated a rhyming poem from memory in front of an audience, you've given a recitation. The noun recitation comes from the word "recite." When you recite, or say something you've memorized, you give a recitation. This happens a lot in school and in religious traditions, but you might also hear your know-it-all friend give an impromptu recitation of a famous director's films or every Beatles song in alphabetical order. The word comes from the Latin prefix re, "again," and the word citare, "to summon." Summoning again from memory is recitation.
Vocabulary lists containing recitation
The Vocabulary of College
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Passover Vocabulary
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"Slam: Performance Poetry Lives On" and "Euphoria"
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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.
Recitation was a huge part of the lessons at her school.
From "Stella by Starlight" by Sharon M. Draper
For the Form of Epic, which comes next in view, 'tis agreed on all Hands to be Recitation or Narration.
From Epistle to a Friend Concerning Poetry (1700) and the Essay on Heroic Poetry (second edition, 1697) by Hooker, Edward N.
The morning in most classes is occupied with Scripture, Reading, Arithmetic, Writing, and some less formal work, such as Nature lesson or Recitation; some form of Physical Exercise is always taken.
From The Child under Eight by Murray, E. R. (Elsie Riach)
Recitation with dramatic energy by men whose business it was to travel from one great house to another and delight the people by the way, was usual among us from the first.
From A Bundle of Ballads by Morley, Henry
Recitation, 201-13; factors in, 206-13 Reflection, 2 f.,
From How We Think by Dewey, John
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.
