rendition

American  

[ren-dish-uhn] / rɛnˈdɪʃ ən /

noun

• renditions
  plural

1. the act of rendering.

   Synonyms:

   version, interpretation

2. a translation.

3. an interpretation, as of a role or a piece of music.

4. the legal procedure or process of sending a suspected criminal to another country to be interrogated or detained, usually for law-enforcement purposes.

5. Archaic. surrender.

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rendition British  

/ rɛnˈdɪʃən /

noun

1. a performance of a musical composition, dramatic role, etc

2. a translation of a text

3. the act of rendering

4. archaic surrender

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verb

1. (tr) to subject (a person) to extraordinary rendition

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonrendition
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• renditions
  plural

Etymology

Origin of rendition

1595–1605; < Middle French, alteration of reddition (< Middle English reddicion ) < Late Latin redditiōn- (stem of redditiō ), equivalent to Latin reddit ( us ) (past participle of reddere; see render ¹) + -iōn- -ion

Explanation

A rendition is an interpretation, performance, or translation. Whitney Houston's rendition of the Star Spangled Banner is still used at games today; Roseanne Barr's is not. This word comes from the Old French rendre, which means “to deliver, yield.” So if you want to put your spin on a song or poem or your favorite movie monologue, go ahead and deliver your rendition of it. But know that in modern times this word has also been used as a noun, describing the secret capture and interrogation of a terror suspect in a foreign country that has less strict human rights laws.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

rendition renditions

She managed to have a country hit with three different versions of it, while Houston’s mountain-moving 1992 rendition became one of the bestselling singles of all time.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026

The crowd burst into applause and a rendition of "Total Eclipse Of The Heart" broke out as it made its way through the coastal village on Swansea's southwestern edge.

From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026

Percussion underneath, horns above, their rendition of “Tequila!” with a ska spirit.

From Salon ● Aug. 11, 2026

Scottish singer KT Tunstall's rendition of No Scotland No Party – another anthem of the Tartan Army this summer – later in the evening was fitting on this occasion.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

She proceeds to prove otherwise with a stunningly bad rendition of a Kelly Clarkson ballad.

From "Will Grayson, Will Grayson" by John Green and David Levithan

Bocelli would return to Mar-a-Lago for an early-2024 “charity” event, however, and Trump would keep playing his operatic renditions at his campaign stops.

From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2026

Tomlinson also hyped the crowd with lively renditions of his solo hits Imposter, Lemonade and Sunflowers.

From BBC ● May 23, 2026

Malone also offered up country-fied renditions of some of his older songs, including “Circles” — it’s about his favorite shape, he noted — “Rockstar” and “Sunflower,” which sounded especially lovely in this rootsy setting.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 27, 2026

Their stand-in renditions spared livestock and human attendants from sacrifice.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 30, 2026

Lily may be the least helpful helper in the family, but she entertains me with screamed renditions of Disney songs and informs me when she thinks my T-shirts are ugly.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

Related Words

• depiction
• interpretation
• portrayal
• presentation
• rendering
• transcription
• translation
• version