recitation

[ res-i-tey-shuh n ]

/ ˌrɛs ɪˈteɪ ʃən /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR recitation ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an act of reciting.

a reciting or repeating of something from memory, especially formally or publicly.

oral response by a pupil or pupils to a teacher on a prepared lesson.

a period of classroom instruction.

an elocutionary delivery of a piece of poetry or prose, without the text, before an audience.

a piece so delivered or for such delivery.

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Nearby words

Origin of recitation

1475–85; < Latin recitātiōn- (stem of recitātiō), equivalent to recitāt(us) (past participle of recitāre to recite) + -iōn- -ion

Related formsnon·rec·i·ta·tion, noun

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

Examples from the Web for recitation

Poindexter followed with a recitation of the Iran program filled with deliberate inaccuracies.
How the Reagan White House Bungled Its Response to Iran-Contra Revelations|Malcolm Byrne|November 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Any list of his conspicuous qualities turns out to be a recitation of opposites.
Will the Real Jim Palmer Please Stand Up|Tom Boswell|September 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The janitor took me to the recitation hall, opened the door, and left me.
All the Days of My Life: An Autobiography|Amelia Edith Huddleston Barr
After the recitation an interesting conversation took place.
Jasmin: Barber, Poet, Philanthropist|Samuel Smiles

Add to it, if you will, at the close of the recitation, this earnest question: "Why not to-day?"
Sunday-School Success|Amos R. Wells
But the effect of the recitation of “Palestine” was entirely unrivalled on that as on any other occasion.
Pioneers and Founders|Charlotte Mary Yonge
He could not talk for a minute without throwing in a bit of a recitation and striking an attitude.
Adventures of a Despatch Rider|W. H. L. Watson

British Dictionary definitions for recitation

recitation

/ (ˌrɛsɪˈteɪʃən) /

noun

the act of reciting from memory, or a formal reading of verse before an audience

something recited

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 recitation

recitation

late 15c., "act of detailing," from Old French récitation (14c.) and directly from Latin recitationem (nominative recitatio) "public reading, a reading aloud," noun of action from past participle stem of recitare (see recite). Meaning "act of repeating aloud" is from 1620s; that of "repetition of a prepared lesson" is first recorded 1770, American English.