1
as in to speak
to talk as if giving an important and formal speech given the opportunity, many politicians will orate at considerable length on just about any subject

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2
as in to lecture
to give a formal often extended talk on a subject the respected anthropologist is expected to orate about her latest research findings before a packed auditorium

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Examples 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 orate Is there a historical context where the struggle has been orated by other groups? J.m. Banks, Kansas City Star, 24 Apr. 2024 At the age of 3, little Malachi Lukes was orating at his school in the style of President Barack Obama. Keith L. Alexander, Washington Post, 26 Feb. 2024 The most persuasive and engrossing moment of the play comes late, when Harry Nelson is orating for his son’s benefit on the history and necessity of humankind’s relationship with firearms. David L. Coddon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Mar. 2023 Perhaps a chatbot can even orate. David Crary, Fortune, 15 Feb. 2023 Marsha, Nate, and Jacob stand on the balcony as Cal begins to orate. Josh St. Clair, Men's Health, 31 Jan. 2022 The surest way to get yanked off the stage — any stage — is to clear one’s throat and begin to orate. Washington Post, 9 July 2021 My cousin, a single mom, had moved back in with my aunt and uncle, and everyone was helping her raise Jiajia — a precocious three-year-old who orated rather than babbled, and loved instructions, dogs, and Fruit-by-the-Foot. Connie Wang, refinery29.com, 10 Feb. 2020 The earliest evidence of it in American written English stems from about the same period that the constitutional framers Collins was referencing were orating, in a 1795 newspaper account from the Charleston City Gazette. Ephrat Livni, Quartz, 19 Dec. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for orate
Verb
  • Local leaders were hesitant to speak at length about the congresswoman, wary of the perception that they would be seen as pressuring a reluctant candidate into running — which is how former Rep. Ron Dellums’ mayoral tenure is often remembered.
    Shomik Mukherjee, The Mercury News, 15 Nov. 2024
  • Mikko Rantanen spoke bluntly about Nichushkin, saying the quiet part out loud.
    Troy Renck, The Denver Post, 15 Nov. 2024
Verb
  • They even get lectured by parents for breaking rules — but that doesn't stop them from finding a spaceship buried in the nearby woods.
    Christian Holub, EW.com, 1 Nov. 2024
  • The whole thing reads as if it is being delivered by someone looking down over their glasses with their hands on their hips like a parent lecturing a child.
    Roger Valdez, Forbes, 3 Oct. 2024
Verb
  • Oliveira films on location, with the actors in costume, declaiming in boldly theatrical tones that seem wrenched whole from the era of the play’s origins.
    Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 17 Oct. 2024
  • Ten minutes later, a few dozen people were crowding into 192 Books, on Tenth Avenue, to hear Grau declaim in a dead language.
    Fergus McIntosh, The New Yorker, 16 Sep. 2024
Verb
  • In this week's episode of Truly Texan, Doggett talks in-depth about her experience with multiple sclerosis as well as what is was like to be a patient for once.
    Hannah Ortega, Austin American-Statesman, 22 Nov. 2024
  • Arizona Republic Glendale police arrested two men suspected of following a man who withdrew $50,000 in cash to buy a truck before the money was grabbed from the car while the man was talking with the seller.
    Perry Vandell, The Arizona Republic, 22 Nov. 2024
Verb
  • Ever since the October 7 attacks, President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have sought to thread this needle by talking about their commitment to Israel’s defense while routinely haranguing Israel for its conduct of the war and pressuring the nation to operate with more restraint.
    The Editors, National Review, 17 Oct. 2024
  • Doctors are being harangued for injury information that might be useful for gaining an edge in wagering.
    Scott Soshnick, Sportico.com, 3 Sep. 2019
Verb
  • But by Obama’s second term in office, discourse about the importance of representation in media had intensified, and the show came under fire in 2013 for not featuring a Black woman cast member in five years.
    Nate Jones, Vulture, 20 Aug. 2024
  • Kiss or no kiss, Glen Powell is just happy fans care enough about Twisters to start discourse online.
    Carly Thomas, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Aug. 2024

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“Orate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/orate. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.

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