recitation

[res-i-tey-shuhn]

noun

1. an act of reciting.

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

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

4. a period of classroom instruction.

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

6. a piece so delivered or for such delivery.

recitation

/ ˌrɛsɪˈteɪʃən /

noun

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

2. something recited

Other Word Forms

• nonrecitation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of recitation¹

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

Example Sentences

DeSantis’s opposition to the teaching of AP African American history speaks to a state power apparatus that is afraid of a factual recitation of Florida’s real history.

From Salon

There was the fight to restore the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance on his bleeding heart campus.

From Los Angeles Times

At Paul Revere Junior High, Russell won first place at a Shakespeare Festival for his sonnet recitation.

From Los Angeles Times

On the outside, it seems like it’s a quiet, calm ballad as it opens; Ellis on guitar, a recitation of the story of "a girl who’s got no history / got no past."

From Salon

Just as Lorca embodies Lorca, Wainwright threads recitations of Lord Byron’s 1816 “Darkness,” throughout a score otherwise based on the traditional Latin requiem text.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• monologue 
• narration 
• oration 
• recital 
• recounting www.thesaurus.com
• rendering