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

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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

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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

And I wouldn’t be surprised if Pugh’s exquisite, gorgeously brutal rendition leads more of us to her defense.

From Salon ● Oct. 3, 2026

The players closed the show with a rendition of their 1984 song “Jaula de Oro,” which speaks to the plight of the undocumented community.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2026

For the show's finals on Tuesday in California, Nene, whose real name is Rattikarn Amloy, performed a rendition of Seven Nation Army by American rock duo The White Stripes.

From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026

In a statement, the activists called for an independent investigation to establish "who requested, authorised, facilitated and concealed Dr Besigye's rendition".

From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026

I apologize to Dr. Katz in my head, but there’s no way I’m brushing my teeth and taking a shower and doing harmony on a screeching rendition of a Blondie song.

From "Sparrow" by Sarah Moon

There were shrieks of relief and whoops of disbelief, tears and fireworks and renditions of “Empire State of Mind” and “New York, New York.”

From Salon ● Jun. 17, 2026

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

And of course at the heart of it was powerful renditions of a host of her hits, including Stay For Something, When A Good Man Cries and I Don't Really Care For You.

From BBC ● May 24, 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

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

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Related Words

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

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