— dictional , adj. — dictionally , adv.
/dik"sheuhn/ , n.
1. style of speaking or writing as dependent upon choice of words: good diction.
2. the accent, inflection, intonation, and speech-sound quality manifested by an individual speaker, usually judged in terms of prevailing standards of acceptability; enunciation.
[ 1400-50; late ME diccion diction- (s. of dictio ) word, L: rhetorical delivery, equiv. to dict ( us ) said, spoken (ptp. of dicere ) + -ion- -ION ]
Syn. 1. usage, language. 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 esp. 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.