recitation
Americannoun
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an act of reciting.
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a reciting or repeating of something from memory, especially formally or publicly.
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oral response by a pupil or pupils to a teacher on a prepared lesson.
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a period of classroom instruction.
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an elocutionary delivery of a piece of poetry or prose, without the text, before an audience.
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a piece so delivered or for such delivery.
noun
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the act of reciting from memory, or a formal reading of verse before an audience
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something recited
Other Word Forms
- nonrecitation noun
Etymology
Origin of recitation
1475–85; < Latin recitātiōn- (stem of recitātiō ), equivalent to recitāt ( us ) (past participle of recitāre to recite ) + -iōn- -ion
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
There, nightly recitation of the rosary and the constant threat of Moran’s simmering rage hold sway.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 9, 2026
It’s worth a recitation of the original case’s backstory at this point, because this litigation has become a house of cards, with new, precarious levels being added all the time.
From Slate • Aug. 29, 2025
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 • May 13, 2025
At noon, the ceremony began with a recitation of Winston Churchill's famous VE Day speech by actor Timothy Spall.
From BBC • May 5, 2025
Wilkerson will not allow us to snooze through a recitation of familiar verbiage.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
