Definition of: diction

(dik′shən) noun
1. The use, choice, and arrangement of words and modes of expression.
2. The manner of speaking or of any vocal expression; enunciation. [<L dictio, -onis speech <dicere say, speak] Synonyms: expression, language, phrase, phraseology, style, verbiage, vocabulary, wording, words. An author's diction is strictly his choice and use of words, with no special reference to thought; expression regards the words simply as the vehicle of the thought. Phrase and phraseology apply to words or combinations of words which are somewhat technical; as, in legal phraseology; in military phrase. Diction is general; wording is limited; we speak of the diction of an author or of a work, the wording of a proposition, of a resolution, etc. Verbiage is wordiness. Style includes diction, expression, rhetorical figures such as metaphor and simile, the effect of an author's prevailing tone of thought, of his personal traits
—in short, all that makes up the clothing of thought in words. Compare LANGUAGE.