orotund
Americanadjective
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(of the voice or speech) characterized by strength, fullness, richness, and clearness.
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(of a style of speaking) pompous or bombastic.
adjective
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(of the voice) resonant; booming
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(of speech or writing) bombastic; pompous
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of orotund
1785–95; contraction of Latin phrase ōre rotundō, with round mouth; see oral ( def. ), rotund ( def. )
Explanation
If the reviews of your concert describe your singing as orotund, you can pop open the champagne — your reviewers have noticed your full, rich sound. On the other hand, if you've just given a speech and the TV commentators ridicule it as orotund, moralistic, and meaningless, you might want to drop out of sight for a few weeks. You've been called out for your pompous, self-important style. Orotund comes from the Latin word ore, "mouth," and rotundo, "make round." So orotund sounds are what you make with a rounded mouth, which is good if you're singing, but pretentious if you're not.
Vocabulary lists containing orotund
100 SAT words Beginning with "O"
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Body Language: Or, Os ("Mouth")
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Long Walk to Freedom
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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.
Orotund syllables drip from the mouths of government ministers, military officers and property owners in private consultations.
From New York Times • Apr. 4, 2019
Orotund, ō′rō-tund, adj. full, clear, and musical, as speech.—n. full, clear, and musical speech, as when directly from the larynx.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 3 of 4: N-R) by Various
The qualities of voice mostly used in reading or speaking, and which should receive the highest degree of culture, are the Pure Tone, the Orotund, the Aspirated, and the Guttural.
From Sanders' Union Fourth Reader by Sanders, Charles W.
Dr. Rush defines the Orotund as that assemblage of eminent qualities which constitute the highest characteristic of the speaking voice.
From The Canadian Elocutionist by Howard, Anna Kelsey
The Orotund is a highly improved state of the Natural voice, and is the quality most used, being far more expressive, as it gives grandeur and energy to thought and expression.
From The Canadian Elocutionist by Howard, Anna Kelsey
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.
