exposition

American  

[ek-spuh-zish-uhn] / ˌɛk spəˈzɪʃ ən /

noun

1. a large-scale public exhibition or show, as of art or manufactured products.

   an exposition of 19th-century paintings; an automobile exposition.

   Synonyms:

   presentation, display, demonstration, exhibit

2. the act of expounding, setting forth, or explaining.

   the exposition of a point of view.

3. writing or speech primarily intended to convey information or to explain; a detailed statement or explanation; explanatory treatise.

   The students prepared expositions on familiar essay topics.

   Synonyms:

   explication, exegesis, interpretation, critique, commentary, elucidation

4. the act of presenting to view; display.

   The singer gave a splendid exposition of vocal talent.

5. exposure.

6. the state of being uncovered, revealed, or otherwise exposed; exposure.

7. Music. the first section of a fugue or a sonata form, in which the principal themes normally are introduced.

8. (in a play, novel, etc.) dialogue, description, etc., that gives the audience or reader the background of the characters and the present situation.

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exposition British  

/ ˌɛkspəˈzɪʃən /

noun

1. a systematic, usually written statement about, commentary on, or explanation of a specific subject

2. the act of expounding or setting forth information or a viewpoint

3. a large public exhibition, esp of industrial products or arts and crafts

4. the act of exposing or the state of being exposed

5. the part of a play, novel, etc, in which the theme and main characters are introduced

6. music the first statement of the subjects or themes of a movement in sonata form or a fugue

7. RC Church the exhibiting of the consecrated Eucharistic Host or a relic for public veneration

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Other Word Forms

• expositional adjective
• preexposition noun
• reexposition noun

Etymology

Origin of exposition

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English exposicioun, exposicyon, from Old French exposition, from Latin expositiōn- (stem of expositiō “exposure (of an infant to die); statement, description),” equivalent to exposit(us); + -iōn- ; expose, -ion

Example Sentences

Spencer is good company; Potts, whom I am always happy to see, is more an instrument of exposition than a full-blown character, and it feels a little unfair.

From Los Angeles Times

The book bristles with insight and originality, interspersing Vara’s more journalistic expositions with excurses and fragments curated from the author’s expansive digital life.

From Los Angeles Times

The dialogue avoids exposition, the silences say much.

From Los Angeles Times

Whether this is a flaw is up to you, but Smith’s opening narration provides the only backdrop or exposition we ever get in “Patti Smith: Dream of Life.”

From Salon

His scores, with their inherent rigor and overt religiosity, seemingly simple structure and patient exposition, conjure a world both foundational and unbound.

From The Wall Street Journal