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Definition of "elision" [elision]

  • Omission of a final or initial sound in pronunciation. (noun)
  • Omission of an unstressed vowel or syllable, as in scanning a verse. (noun)
  • The act or an instance of omitting something. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "elision" in a sentence
  • "In addition to that, the reaction of most of my learners (I do believe we should always take our context into account so I need to talk about my learners) when they are first taught about the rhythm of the language, liaisons and elision is of shock and indignation."
  • "The only way around mathematically brutal elision is to cheat by adding a picture or link -- fodder for the ADD crowd who will actually go to prominent writers 'blogs and complain about having to read "paragraphs.""
  • "Syncope, in the sense of contraction or elision, is also the name of a poetic device used for securing the cadence of a line, or making the line fit into the syllable pattern of the stanza."