1
as in speech
the art of speaking in public eloquently and effectively
a presidential hopeful with a gift for oratory and a highly charismatic personality
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in rhetoric
language that is impressive-sounding but not meaningful or sincere
the politician's oratory sounded good only to people who didn't bother to think
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of oratory
Netanyahu has done little to aid Ukraine even in his oratory.
—
Melik Kaylan, Forbes, 20 Jan. 2025
Revisiting ancient Greek oratory and today’s communication courses, speaking has obviously been prioritized over listening.
—Tyler Shepherd, USA TODAY, 10 Jan. 2025
He was not limited to a single playing field either in sports (baseball, basketball, and football) or the arts (acting, oratory, and singing).
—Thomas Doherty, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Oct. 2024
Obama made his name with soaring oratory about a collective opportunity to fulfill America’s promise and a memoir that was deeply introspective about his role in that fight.
—Noah Bierman, Los Angeles Times, 9 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for oratory
Melik Kaylan, Forbes, 20 Jan. 2025
Revisiting ancient Greek oratory and today’s communication courses, speaking has obviously been prioritized over listening.
—Tyler Shepherd, USA TODAY, 10 Jan. 2025
He was not limited to a single playing field either in sports (baseball, basketball, and football) or the arts (acting, oratory, and singing).
—Thomas Doherty, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Oct. 2024
Obama made his name with soaring oratory about a collective opportunity to fulfill America’s promise and a memoir that was deeply introspective about his role in that fight.
—Noah Bierman, Los Angeles Times, 9 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for oratory
Recent Examples of Synonyms for oratory
Noun
-
Business Taken together, the changes reflect a new emphasis at Meta in favor of more unrestrained speech and more rapidly updating its apps — a dismantling of various guardrails the company has enacted over the years to curb the misuse of its platforms.—
Shannon Bond,
NPR,
31 May 2025
-
In many ways, Saturday’s talk was a truncated version of the marathon speech that the senator gave in April.—
Linh Tat,
Oc Register,
31 May 2025
Noun
-
While some may view these new statements as a step toward accountability, others remain skeptical, citing the depth and repeated nature of his past rhetoric.—
Preezy Brown,
VIBE.com,
22 May 2025
-
In her public rhetoric, mostly on social media and right-wing media appearances, Lake has veered between promising to restore the networks to their historic mission and pledging to demolish them.—
David Folkenflik,
NPR,
22 May 2025
Noun
-
The recordings also capture Bell’s family background in elocution (his father, grandfather, and brother all taught the subject).—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
30 Apr. 2018
-
The Bartlet staff’s righteous (and self-righteous) elocution might seem — to the cynical — sentimental, treacly, smarmy, or just eye-roll-inducingly dumb.—
Lizzie Logan,
Vulture,
23 Sep. 2024
Noun
-
The Leo full moon on the 12th encourages you to use your voice more boldly, whether that’s through writing, teaching, public speaking, or social media.—
Meghan Rose,
Glamour,
1 June 2025
-
Professional athletes, like fine wines, only get better at public speaking with age.—
Mikey O'Connell,
HollywoodReporter,
14 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Oratory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/oratory. Accessed 5 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share