oratorical

English

Etymology

From orator or oratory +‎ -ical, or else from Latin ōrātōrius.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌɒɹəˈtɒɹɪkəl/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Adjective

oratorical (not comparable)

1. of, or relating to oratory or an orator.

   A to'oto'o is a Sāmoan oratorical staff.

   • 1951, John Wyndham, The Day of the Triffids, Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, published 1954, page 204:

     The rest were looking at Coker curiously. It was the first time they had heard him in one of his oratorical moods.

   • 1952, Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man, Penguin Books (2014), page 558:

     I reached up without thinking, actually a desperate oratorical gesture of disagreement and defiance.

Derived terms

• oratorically
• unoratorical