recital Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun the act of giving an account describing incidents or a course of events
    yarn; narration.
    • his narration was hesitant
  2. noun performance of music or dance especially by soloists
  3. noun a public instance of reciting or repeating (from memory) something prepared in advance
    recitation; reading.
    • the program included songs and recitations of well-loved poems
  4. noun a detailed statement giving facts and figures
    • his wife gave a recital of his infidelities
  5. noun a detailed account or description of something
    • he was forced to listen to a recital of his many shortcomings

WordNet

Re*cit"al noun
Etymology
From Recite.
Definitions
  1. The act of reciting; the repetition of the words of another, or of a document; rehearsal; as, the recital of testimony.
  2. A telling in detail and due order of the particulars of anything, as of a law, an adventure, or a series of events; narration. Addison.
  3. That which is recited; a story; a narration.
  4. (Mus.) A vocal or instrumental performance by one person; -- distinguished from concert; as, a song recital; an organ, piano, or violin recital.
  5. (Law) The formal statement, or setting forth, of some matter of fact in any deed or writing in order to explain the reasons on which the transaction is founded; the statement of matter in pleading introductory to some positive allegation. Burn. Syn. -- Account; rehearsal; recitation; narration; description; explanation; enumeration; detail; narrative. See Account.

Webster 1913