Exposition
noun /ˌɛkspəˈzɪʃən/ — The background information that establishes the world of a story.
Definition
The explanatory material in a narrative that provides necessary context — character backstory, setting, world rules, prior events — without which the reader cannot understand what happens next.
Beyond the definition
All writers struggle with exposition — how to tell the reader what they need to know without boring them with what they already suspect. The best exposition is invisible, sewn into the action so naturally that you absorb the world without noticing the instruction.
Origin & history
Latin 'expositio' — a setting out, explaining, from 'exponere' (to set out), from 'ex-' (out) + 'ponere' (to place). To expose the essential details.
Example sentences
Illustrative sentences for learning, not verified community posts or sourced quotations.
Her first three pages were pure exposition — you understood the world before anything happened.
The film opens with classic exposition: place, time, character, situation.
Skilled writers hide exposition in dialogue; clumsy ones state it in paragraphs.
Synonyms
background, context, setup, backstory
Antonyms
in medias res, withholding
Related words
Word in the Wild
See how this word appears in life, language and stories.
Illustrative sentences and imagined stories for learning — not verified sightings, interviews, or sourced quotations.
Fictional scene
Archivist examining heavy ancient volumes
An adult stands in a quiet archive, holding an open, heavy book filled with handwritten records amidst dim light and dust.
The archival record provides the foundational context for a story, mirroring how exposition supplies the necessary backstory and rules of a narrative. Just as the archive contains the history needed to understand the present, exposition provides the background required to understand future actions.
Image credit: Wordspun · AI-generated conceptual illustration