The AI-powered English dictionary
plural oratories
A private chapel or prayer room. quotations examples
I will retire to my oratory, and pray to the blessed Virgin to inspire you with her holy counsels […] .
1764, Horace Walpole, “chapter II”, in The Castle of Otranto
A Roman Catholic chapel; a building for public or private worship that is not a parish church. quotations examples
By public oratories are meant those attached to monasteries, convents, seminaries, etc., having a public entrance by which the faithful have access to them.
1876, Michael Comerford, The Book of Holy Indulgences […] , page 29
(specifically) A Catholic church belonging to the Oratory of Saint Philip Neri. quotations examples
They had been given the old Oscott College premises as a temporary home, but were content there until Oratories could be established in the cities. St Philip Neri had specifically intended that the Oratory should be a city-based form of communal and missionary life.
2006, Judith F. Champ, William Bernard Ullathorne, 1806–1889: A Different Kind of Monk, page 168
uncountable
The art of public speaking, especially in a formal, expressive, or forceful manner. examples
Eloquence; the quality of artistry and persuasiveness in speech or writing. examples