exposition

[ek-spuh-zish-uh n]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR exposition ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a large-scale public exhibition or show, as of art or manufactured products: an exposition of 19th-century paintings; an automobile exposition.

the act of expounding, setting forth, or explaining: the exposition of a point of view.

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.

the act of presenting to view; display: The singer gave a splendid exposition of vocal talent.

exposure(def 12).

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

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

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

Origin of exposition

1300–50; Middle English exposicioun < Latin expositiōn- (stem of expositiō), equivalent to exposit(us) (see expose) + -iōn- -ion

Related formsex·po·si·tion·al, adjectivepre·ex·po·si·tion, nounre·ex·po·si·tion, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for exposition

comment, essay, elucidation, text, paper, disquisition, thesis, critique, interpretation, dissertation, story, review, discourse, theme, details, statement, commentary, exegesis, presentation, composition

Examples from the Web for exposition

Contemporary Examples of exposition

All this shows the real problem when telling the story of geniuses: exposition.
Why Can’t Movies Capture Genius?
Clive Irving
December 14, 2014
In the hands of a lessor actor, she might have even seemed like an exposition machine.
Welcome to Snowpiercer’s Apocalypse
Teo Bugbee
June 29, 2014
Those bored by exposition who like action and dialogue written in the present tense will eat these up.
The Man With Stories to Tell
Allen Barra
December 8, 2013
But also somebody who could handle a mouthful of exposition and make the words understandable and compelling.
Homeland’s Tracy Letts, Writer of ‘August: Osage County,’ Says Oscar Mania Is Frustrating
Jason Lynch
November 5, 2013
There were 200 extras in the room, the cameras were on me, I have long speeches and a lot of exposition and stuff.
Homeland’s Tracy Letts, Writer of ‘August: Osage County,’ Says Oscar Mania Is Frustrating
Jason Lynch
November 5, 2013

Historical Examples of exposition

She was an exposition of the domestic resources of Horn o' the Moon.
Tiverton Tales
Alice Brown
This, sir, is your exposition of the Savior's rule of right.
Slavery Ordained of God
Rev. Fred A. Ross, D.D.
I said, as if I had only been waiting for her exposition of the case.
Wilfrid Cumbermede
George MacDonald
I listened one day with much interest 117 to an exposition of the evils of salt.
Mountain Meditations
L. Lind-af-Hageby
Prussian militarists are experts in the exposition of similar theories.
Mountain Meditations
L. Lind-af-Hageby

British Dictionary definitions for exposition

exposition

noun

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

the act of expounding or setting forth information or a viewpoint

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

the act of exposing or the state of being exposed

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

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

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

Derived Formsexpositional, adjective

Word Origin for exposition

C14: from Latin expositiō a setting forth, from expōnere to display; see exponent

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

Word Origin and History for exposition

late 14c., "explanation, narration," from Old French esposicion (12c.), from Latin expositionem (nominative expositio) "a setting or showing forth," noun of action from past participle stem of exponere (see expound).

The meaning "public display" is first recorded 1851 in reference to the Crystal Palace Exposition in London. Abbreviation Expo is first recorded 1963, in reference to planning for the world's fair held in Montreal in 1967.