diction

[dik-shuhn]

noun

1. style of speaking or writing as dependent upon choice of words.

   good diction.

   Synonyms: language, usage

2. the accent, inflection, intonation, and speech-sound quality manifested by an individual speaker, usually judged in terms of prevailing standards of acceptability; enunciation.

diction

/ ˈdɪkʃən /

noun

1. the choice and use of words in writing or speech

2. the manner of uttering or enunciating words and sounds; elocution

diction

1. The choice of words. Diction is effective when words are appropriate to an audience. A man might refer to his car as his “wheels” in casual conversation with a friend, but if he were writing an essay for a group of economists, he would write, “People base their decision to buy an automobile on the following considerations,” not “People base their decision to buy wheels on the following considerations.”

Other Word Forms

• dictional adjective
• dictionally adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of diction¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English diccion, from Late Latin dictiōn- (stem of dictiō ) “word,” Latin: “rhetorical delivery,” equivalent to dict(us) “said, spoken (past participle of dīcere ) + -iōn- -ion

Word History and Origins

Origin of diction¹

C15: from Latin dictiō a saying, mode of expression, from dīcere to speak, say

Synonym Study

Diction, phraseology, wording refer to the means and the manner of expressing ideas. Diction usually implies a high level of usage; it refers chiefly to the choice of words, their arrangement, and the force, accuracy, and distinction with which they are used: The speaker was distinguished for his excellent diction; poetic diction. Phraseology refers more to the manner of combining the words into related groups, and especially to the peculiar or distinctive manner in which certain technical, scientific, and professional ideas are expressed: legal phraseology. Wording refers to the exact words or phraseology used to convey thought: the wording of a will.

Example Sentences

In an undated interview taped by her manager, she advised young performers to “first and foremost, get proper training” in voice and diction.

From Los Angeles Times

Reviewer David Kipen celebrated Wallace’s “stupendously high-toned vocabulary and gleeful low-comedy diction, coupled with a sense of syntax so elongated that he can seem to go for days without surfacing.”

From Los Angeles Times

“I find it hard to come up with an adequate analogy, but imagine the plain, contemporary style of Raymond Carver being garnished with the elaborate diction of Charles Dickens,” he wrote.

From Los Angeles Times

Along with her appearance, she also honed her acting with meticulous attention to diction and technique.

From BBC

And yet, perhaps because of the strange diction, the phrase is more than just a gustatory command.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• eloquence 
• fluency 
• inflection 
• intonation 
• phrasing 
• pronunciation 
• wording