Exposition — Meaning, Definition & Examples
Exposition (noun, pronounced ek-spuh-ZISH-un) has three related senses: a comprehensive explanation of an idea; the part of a story that introduces the background, characters, and setting; and a large public exhibition or fair. The common thread is “setting something forth” for an audience.
What does exposition mean?
Exposition most often means a clear, detailed explanation of an idea, theory, or argument — “a lucid exposition of the theory.” In literature and film it has a specialized sense: the exposition is the opening stretch that gives you the background, introduces the characters, and sets the scene before the conflict starts. A third, older sense is a large public exhibition (a world’s fair was once called an exposition).
All three meanings share the same root idea: laying something out fully so an audience can take it in.
Exposition in literature
In storytelling, exposition is the information the audience needs to follow what happens — who the characters are, where and when the story takes place, and what led up to this moment. Done well it is woven in; done clumsily it becomes an “info-dump.” The exposition is the first stage of the classic plot structure, before rising action, climax, and resolution.
Exposition in a sentence
• Explanation: The chapter offers a clear exposition of supply and demand. • Literature: The novel’s first ten pages are pure exposition. • Exhibition: The 1889 Exposition Universelle introduced the Eiffel Tower.
Synonyms
Synonyms (explanation): account, description, commentary, explication, elucidation.
Synonyms (exhibition): fair, show, display, expo.
Word origin
Exposition comes from the Latin expositio, “a setting forth,” from exponere (ex- “out” + ponere “to place”) — literally to place something out in the open. The English word “expo” is just a clipped form.
Summarize the exposition
Studying a story and need the background in a nutshell? Paste a passage into Humanit’s free summarizer to pull out the key setup in a few lines — or use the paraphraser to restate a dense explanation in plainer words.
FAQ
What does exposition mean in simple terms?
A clear explanation of something — and, in a story, the opening part that sets up the characters and background.
What is exposition in a story?
The beginning section that gives the audience the background information — characters, setting, and situation — needed before the main conflict unfolds.
What is a synonym for exposition?
For the “explanation” sense: account or explication. For the “event” sense: exhibition or fair.
Try Humanit free
Rewrite AI text to read human, then verify with the built-in detector.
Open the humanizer