Fact · Dictation
The Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary gives a specialist sense of diction: the choice and use of words in literature.
Checked against its source on October 17, 2026
In the source's own words
“the choice and use of words in literature”
Diction: meaning in the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Oxford University Press, 2026, Entry for diction (noun), specialist sense.
Open the original- What it measures
- The entry labels this sense as specialist and gives the example poetic diction. It is a literary usage, and it is the reason some people use diction to mean word choice rather than pronunciation.
- What it does not show
- This sense is labeled specialist, so most everyday uses of diction mean pronunciation. The word choice sense does not overlap with dictation, which concerns speaking words to be written down.