Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of oratorical
First recorded in 1610–20; orator, orator(y) 1 + -ical
Explanation
The word oratorical describes the way someone speaks in public. If you have a terribly sore throat, your oratorical skills may suffer. The adjective oratorical comes from a Latin root meaning "to speak before a court or assembly." Whether you're speaking to a court, or just your Spanish class, if you're giving a presentation or a speech you're using your oratorical skills. You might use oratorical tricks like eye contact with your audience or excellent posture, or model your speaking on oratorical heroes like Martin Luther King, Jr.
Vocabulary lists containing oratorical
The Madman of Piney Woods
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Ali sees a bit of himself in the young orators captured in the documentary “We Are the Dream: The Kids of the Oakland MLK Oratorical Fest,” which premiered this week on HBO.
From New York Times • Feb. 20, 2020
Young people take part in a public-speaking competition honoring civil-rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. in the special “We Are the Dream: The Kids of the Oakland MLK Oratorical Fest.”
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 14, 2020
When Heidi Schreck was fourteen, her mother cajoled her into entering the American Legion Oratorical Contest, in which high-school students give speeches on the U.S.
From The New Yorker • Feb. 11, 2019
Oratorical contests like these were popular campaign devices, for isolated citizens hungered for entertaining spectacles, and thousands of listeners were willing to gather for lively exchanges that continued for hours in the summer sun.
From Textbooks • Jan. 18, 2018
"You'll just get the college affairs hopelessly mixed up—" "Like the Oratorical Association was last year?" she inquired gently.
From At Good Old Siwash by Fitch, George
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
