Definition

1. Verb (Intransitive):
   • To speak at length, especially in a formal, pompous, or declamatory manner.
   • To deliver the concluding part of a formal speech or oration.

Usage

• The verb "perorate" is typically used in formal or critical contexts to describe a specific style of speaking. It often carries a slightly negative connotation, implying the speech is overly grand, long-winded, or bombastic.
• It can be used to describe the act of concluding a formal address with a summary and a final, often emotional, appeal.

Examples

• Verb (Intransitive):
  • The politician would often perorate for hours, losing the interest of his audience.
  • The defense attorney perorated dramatically before the jury, hoping to sway their final opinion.
  • He did not simply finish his lecture; he perorated, summarizing his key points with great flourish.

Advanced Usage

• "To perorate on/upon a subject": To speak at length and grandly about a specific topic.
  • The professor loved to perorate upon the virtues of classical literature.

Variants and Related Words

• Peroration (n): The concluding part of a speech, typically intended to inspire enthusiasm. It can also refer to a long, grandiloquent speech.
  • The climax of his argument came in the powerful peroration.

Synonyms

• Declaim: To speak rhetorically or as if giving a formal speech.
• Harangue: To lecture someone at length in an aggressive and critical manner.
• Pontificate: To express one's opinions in a pompous and dogmatic way.

Antonyms

• Mumble: To speak quietly and indistinctly.
• Understate: To describe or represent something as less important than it is.

Verb

1. deliver an oration in grandiloquent style
2. conclude a speech with a formal recapitulation