repetition
/rɛpɪˈtɪʃ(ə)n
/noun [mass noun]
1The action of repeating something that has already been said or written: her comments are worthy of repetition [count noun]: a repetition of his reply to the delegation...
- Their first writing task was to demonstrate their ability to emulate skillful use of repetition by writing a short speech modeled after those that they had just finished studying.
- So the countersignature that returns to Nietzsche when he writes himself to himself validates the first by repetition.
- Over twenty-four minutes, the laborious repetition seems similar to the use of a single phrase, repeated on end, in an attempt to reach a state of heightened awareness.
Synonyms
reiteration, repeating, restatement, retelling, iteration, recapitulation;
recital, rehearsal
informal recap
rare reprise, iterance
repeating, echoing, parroting, quoting, copying;
Psychiatry echolalia
1.1 [count noun] archaic A piece set by a teacher to be learned by heart and recited.
2 [often with negative] The recurrence of an action or event: there was to be no repetition of the interwar years [count noun]: I didn’t want a repetition of the scene in my office that morning...
- The double is the literary negation of personal identity and the concept of character, just as the repetition of events is the negation of time and plot.
- Stories from the Rains of Love and Death consists of five scenes that fold into one another connected by a repetition of events and motifs.
- The earliest series of prohibitions against this rising print culture date to the late seventeenth century, and attempt to enforce a ban on the depiction of current events through periodic repetition.
Synonyms
recurrence, reoccurrence, repeat, rerun, replication, duplication;
echo
2.1 [count noun] A thing repeated: the geometric repetitions of Islamic art...
- Built from simple repetitions of geometric motifs and a limited palette of black, white, lavenders and soft pastels, they confront the viewer with a bold, graphic appeal.
- Immensely popular with cultivated collectors, Baschenis ran a studio which produced repetitions and variants of his works.
- Watts not only painted countless repetitions and variants in different sizes, but was a poor judge of his work.
2.2 [count noun] A training exercise which is repeated, especially a series of repeated raisings and lowerings of the weight in weight training: lie on your back and bench-press a light weight very quickly over ten repetitions...
- But not everyone is keen about Horvath's circles, especially Gyrotonic's reliance on weighted repetitions, which, some critics say, can cause muscle strain and unwanted bulk.
- More repetitions using less weight defines muscles without creating bulk.
- I recommend higher repetitions with lower weights to prevent bulking up and to preserve your line.
2.3 Music The repeating of a passage or note: the tune is full of melodic repetition and sequence...
- Double and triple tonguing permit the non-legato execution of more rapid passages of music and facilitate the repetition of notes far more rapidly than is possible with single tonguing.
- An integral component of McCabe's music is repetition, be it notes, rhythm, or textures.
- About 1500, composers adopted the practice of paired imitation and through imitation, the repetition of short melodic passages in two voices or in all parts.
Derivatives
repetitional
Origin
Late Middle English: from Old French repeticion or Latin repetitio(n-), from repetere (see repeat).
- rolling over
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