oratory
noun
skill or eloquence in public speaking.
oratory
1 American
[awr-uh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee, or-]
/ ˈɔr əˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i, ˈɒr- /
noun
-
skill or eloquence in public speaking.
The evangelist moved thousands to repentance with his oratory.
- Synonyms:
- declamation, delivery, rhetoric
-
the art of public speaking, especially in a formal and eloquent manner.
oratory
2
American
[awr-uh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee, or-]
/ ˈɔr əˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i, ˈɒr- /
noun
oratories
plural
-
a place of prayer, as a small chapel or a room for private devotions.
-
(initial capital letter) any of the religious societies of secular priests who live in religious communities but do not take vows.
Oratory
1
British
/ -trɪ, ˈɒrətərɪ /
noun
-
Also called: Congregation of the Oratory. the religious society of secular priests ( Oratorians ) living in a community founded by St Philip Neri
-
any church belonging to this society
the Brompton Oratory
oratory
2
British
/ ˈɒrətərɪ, -trɪ /
noun
-
the art of public speaking
-
rhetorical skill or style
oratory
3
British
/ -trɪ, ˈɒrətərɪ /
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of oratory1
1580–90; < Latin ōrātōria, noun use of feminine of ōrātōrius of an orator. See orator, -tory 1
Origin of oratory2
1300–50; Middle English < Late Latin ōrātōrium place of prayer. See orator, -tory 2
Explanation
An oratory is a long, formal speech. Often one that's a bit puffy and overblown, making you think the speaker really likes the sound of his own voice. Oratory is from the Latin word oratorius for "speaking or pleading." In fact, oratories often leave audiences pleading for an end to the speech. They're the kind of thing evangelical preachers are good at. An oratory is also a little chapel, from the Latin oratorium for "a place of prayer," or a specific group of Roman Catholics, who name their oratories after where they're built, like the Brooklyn Oratory.
Vocabulary lists containing oratory
Speech and Debate
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President Obama's Speech on the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington
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myPerspectives 9.3
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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.
His oratory and pen helped shape the 14th Amendment’s guarantees of citizenship and equal protection and the 15th’s promise of black male suffrage.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 24, 2025
On Friday, as the Rams prepared for the second night of the draft, McVay used his oratory skills before another assemblage of pros.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 25, 2025
It announced that the school oratory would be open on Saturday and Sunday for pupils and their families to come together to remember Tiarnán.
From BBC • Jan. 4, 2025
They were masterpieces of political oratory not despite their lack of weighty marble-clad phrases but because of it.
From Salon • Aug. 23, 2024
Then the bell rang again, much louder than before, and he heard a choir singing, as if the door to a chapel or an oratory had opened.
From "The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage" by Philip Pullman
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.
