elocution

[ el-uh-kyoo-shuhn ]
See synonyms for elocution on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a person's manner of speaking or reading aloud in public: The actor's elocution is faultless.

  2. the study and practice of oral delivery, including the control of both voice and gesture.

Origin of elocution

1
1500–10; <Latin ēlocūtiōn- (stem of ēlocūtiō) a speaking out, equivalent to ē-e-1 + locūtiōn-locution

Other words from elocution

  • el·o·cu·tion·ar·y [el-uh-kyoo-shuh-ner-ee], /ˌɛl əˈkyu ʃəˌnɛr i/, adjective
  • el·o·cu·tion·ist, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use elocution in a sentence

  • Why do we look in vain to-day for elocutionists such as Vandenhoff, Bell, and others?

  • Nor can I, without vocal strain, attain the rumbling bass tones so favoured by many elocutionists.

    Fibble, D. D. | Irvin Shrewsbury Cobb
  • In fact, elocutionists recite in order to have their arms free to act—to illustrate the thought they are expressing.

  • Some hostesses like to provide special entertainment for their guests—professional dancers, elocutionists, or singers.

    Book of Etiquette, Volume 2 | Lillian Eichler Watson
  • Let not incompetent elocutionists or the barbarisms of custom give you tones or enunciations at war with those that God implanted.

    Around The Tea-Table | T. De Witt Talmage

British Dictionary definitions for elocution

elocution

/ (ˌɛləˈkjuːʃən) /


noun
  1. the art of public speaking, esp of voice production, delivery, and gesture

Origin of elocution

1
C15: from Latin ēlocūtiō a speaking out, from ēloquī, from loquī to speak

Derived forms of elocution

  • elocutionary, adjective
  • elocutionist, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012