exposition

[ek-spuh-zish-uhn]

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.

exposition

/ 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

Other Word Forms

• expositional adjective
• preexposition noun
• reexposition noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of exposition¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of exposition¹

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

Example Sentences

“We really wanted our characters to be learned about through the exposition of their workplace environment,” Wyle says.

From Los Angeles Times

It takes a lot of work and exposition to get across a character this nuanced.

From Los Angeles Times

Each is a meticulous account of a session with a psychiatrist, volleys of “I said” and “he said” with little exposition or context save for an occasional footnote.

From Salon

They are deployed for pauses and interruptions in speech; they precede bursts of exposition, neat summings-up and lengthy tangents.

From Salon

Underwater and high in the sky, Tom Cruise’s stunts are fantastic, but Cannes we get past the running exposition?

From Los Angeles Times