diction

American  

[dik-shuhn] / ˈdɪk ʃən /

noun

1. style of speaking or writing as dependent upon choice of words.

   good diction.

   Synonyms:

   language, usage

2. the accent, inflection, intonation, and speech-sound quality manifested by an individual speaker, usually judged in terms of prevailing standards of acceptability; enunciation.

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diction British  

/ ˈdɪkʃən /

noun

1. the choice and use of words in writing or speech

2. the manner of uttering or enunciating words and sounds; elocution

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diction Cultural  

1. The choice of words. Diction is effective when words are appropriate to an audience. A man might refer to his car as his “wheels” in casual conversation with a friend, but if he were writing an essay for a group of economists, he would write, “People base their decision to buy an automobile on the following considerations,” not “People base their decision to buy wheels on the following considerations.”

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Related Words

Diction, phraseology, wording refer to the means and the manner of expressing ideas. Diction usually implies a high level of usage; it refers chiefly to the choice of words, their arrangement, and the force, accuracy, and distinction with which they are used: The speaker was distinguished for his excellent diction; poetic diction. Phraseology refers more to the manner of combining the words into related groups, and especially to the peculiar or distinctive manner in which certain technical, scientific, and professional ideas are expressed: legal phraseology. Wording refers to the exact words or phraseology used to convey thought: the wording of a will.

Other Word Forms

• dictional adjective
• dictionally adverb

Etymology

Origin of diction

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English diccion, from Late Latin dictiōn- (stem of dictiō ) “word,” Latin: “rhetorical delivery,” equivalent to dict(us) “said, spoken (past participle of dīcere ) + -iōn- -ion

Explanation

Diction is the way you talk, that is, the way you enunciate or pronounce your words, and the words and phrases you choose to use. If you've seen the musical "My Fair Lady," you know the character Eliza Doolittle struggles with her diction as her mentor tries to teach her to become a lady. Because of her accent, she has the most difficult time properly pronouncing even the most simple phrases, but in the end, she succeeds in saying things like the key phrase, "The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain."

Example Sentences

Not helping matters were the show’s taped introductions to the segments—breathy readings, delivered with mushy diction, of incomprehensible poems by Monty Richthofen.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 20, 2026

But elevated diction is one of the facades behind which “Call the Midwife” pretends to be a TV program so gentle and mild.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 23, 2025

Reviewer David Kipen celebrated Wallace’s “stupendously high-toned vocabulary and gleeful low-comedy diction, coupled with a sense of syntax so elongated that he can seem to go for days without surfacing.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2025

Along with her appearance, she also honed her acting with meticulous attention to diction and technique.

From BBC • Oct. 9, 2024

The starkness of the paradox is reinforced by the diction and meter: short, simple words, a stressed monosyllable followed by six iambic feet* Most people are never going to die.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker

Related Words

• eloquence
• fluency
• inflection
• intonation
• phrasing
• pronunciation
• wording