diction
/ˈdɪk.ʃən/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 2.71 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Choice and use of words, especially with regard to effective communication; the effectiveness and degree of clarity of word choice and expression.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "the identification of the poetic impulse with sonorous diction"
- "His poor diction meant that most of the audience didn't really understand the key points of the presentation."
Etymology
From late Middle English diccion (“something said; a word or phrase”) (an obsolete sense in Modern English), borrowed directly from Latin dictiō (“a saying, speaking, uttering”) or from Old French dicïon (“word”) (Anglo-Norman dictyoun), from Late Latin dictiō (“word”), both from dīcō (“to say, to talk”) + -tiō, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *deyḱ- (“to show, to point out”). The modern senses of “choice and use of words” and “clarity of word choice” were likely influenced by additional senses of dictiō.