oration
/ɒˈɹeɪʃən/US/ɔɹˈeɪʃən/
oration noun: a formal, often ceremonial speech.
Noun
oration (plural orations)
- A formal, often ceremonial speech.
- a funeral oration; an impassioned oration; to make / deliver / pronounce an oration
- […] there is ſuch confuſion in my powers, / As after ſome Oration fairely ſpoke / By a beloued Prince, there doth appeare / Among the buzzing pleaſed multitude.c. 1596–1598 (date written), W[illiam] Shakespeare, The Excellent History of the Merchant of Venice. […] (First Quarto), [London]: […] J[ames] Roberts [for Thomas Heyes], published 1600, →OCLC, [Act...
- A lengthy speech or argument in a private setting.
- My Landlord was likewiſe beginning his Oration to Jones, but was preſently interrupted by that generous Youth, who ſhook him heartily by the Hand; and aſſured him of entire Forgiveneſs […]1749, Henry Fielding, “In which the Arrival of a Man of War puts a final End to Hostilities, and causes the Conclusion of a firm and lasting Peace between all Parties”, in The History of Tom Jones, a...
- Sally bustled off to set on the kettle for tea, and felt half ashamed, in the quiet of the kitchen, to think of the oration she had made in the parlour.1854, Elizabeth Gaskell, chapter 16, in Ruth
- A specific form of short, solemn prayer said by the president of the liturgical celebration on behalf of the people.
Verb
oration (third-person singular simple present orations, present participle orationing, simple past and past participle orationed)
- To deliver an oration; to speak.
- They gave answers with great sufficiency touching all difficulties concerning their own law, and had marvellous promptitude both for orationing and giving judgement.1633, John Donne (attributed translator), The Auncient History of the Septuagint. Written in Greeke, by Aristeus 1900. yeares since, London, p. 80, cited in Henry Todd, A Dictionary of the English...
- […] Master Primmer is the man for my money; a man of learning; that can lay down the law: why, adzooks, he is wise enough to puzzle the parson: and then, how you have heard him oration at the Adam and Eve of a Saturday night, about Russia and Prussia […]1764, Samuel Foote, The Mayor of Garratt, Act II, in The Dramatic Works of Samuel Foote, Dublin: S. Price et al., 1778, Volume 1, p. 286
- Synonyms:
- hold forth, orate, sermonize, speechify
oration meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Malayalam and Kannada
oration in Tamil
- சொற்பொழிவு, பேருரை, மேடைப்பேச்சு
oration in Urdu
- کلام, خطبہ, تقریر, وعظ
oration in Malayalam
- പ്രഭാഷണം, പ്രസംഗം, പ്രസംഗധോരണി
oration in Kannada
- ಮಾತಿನ ಮೊರೆ, ಪೆರ್ಮಾತು, ಗಂಭೀರ ಭಾಷಣ, ಉಪನ್ಯಾಸ, ಪ್ರವಚನ
More languagesFewer languages
- oration in Arabic
- خُطْبَة ḵuṭba
- oration in Malay
- pengucapan
- oration in Indonesian
- orasi
Examples of oration in a sentence
- And vpon a ſet day Herod arayed in royall apparell, ſate vpon his throne, and made an Oration vnto them.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Acts 12:21, column 1:
- The supper things cleared away, Gerald resumed his oration, but with little satisfaction to himself and none at all to his audience.1936 June 30, Margaret Mitchell, chapter IV, in Gone with the Wind, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, →OCLC, page 63:
- What right have you to be lecturing and orationing?1876, George Meredith, chapter 10, in Beauchamp’s Career, volume 2, Leipzig: Bernhard Tauchnitz, page 129:
Synonyms of oration
Forms of oration
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | orations |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | orations |
| present participle | orationing |
| past participle | orationed |
| past | orationed |
Origin of oration
Borrowed from Latin ōrātiō, ōrātiōnem, from ōrō (“to orate”) + -tiō (“action (nominalizer)”). Cognate with and doublet of orison.
Words formed from oration
Words that rhyme with oration
- station
- collation
- accommodation
- presentation
- derivation
- information
- modulation
- translation
- application
- fixation
- generation
- orientation
48 more rhymesFewer rhymes
- citation
- combination
- communication
- conjugation
- constellation
- determination
- elevation
- operation
- relation
- reservation
- alternation
- condensation
- conversation
- deviation
- excavation
- foliation
- formation
- foundation
- incarnation
- interpretation
- representation
- retardation
- speculation
- termination
- abbreviation
- adaptation
- articulation
- bifurcation
- concentration
- congregation
- declination
- degradation
- expectation
- extenuation
- gradation
- observation
- population
- preparation
- reconciliation
- rotation
- separation
- situation
- vexation
- vindication
- accumulation
- administration
- aggregation
- appropriation
Questions about oration
- What does oration mean?
- Oration means a formal, often ceremonial speech.
- What is oration in Tamil?
- Oration in Tamil is சொற்பொழிவு, பேருரை, மேடைப்பேச்சு. See Oration meaning in Tamil.
- How do you use oration in a sentence?
- And vpon a ſet day Herod arayed in royall apparell, ſate vpon his throne, and made an Oration vnto them.
- What part of speech is oration?
- Oration can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce oration?
- Oration is pronounced /ɒˈɹeɪʃən/ (UK).
- What is the plural of oration?
- The plural of oration is orations.
Words near oration in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: oration (page history and authors); oration (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); oration (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); oration (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); oration (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-oration.wav.
Cite this entry: “oration.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/oration. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.