noun ·5 syllables ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A musical composition, often based on a religious theme; similar to opera but with no costume, scenery or acting.
2. 2
   a musical composition for voices and orchestra based on a religious text wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

cantataanthemcantatacanticlechoral singingchorale

Example

More examples

"I don't mean Vivaldi's, I mean Haydn's Oratorio. Do you know it?"

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian oratorio (“oratorical”), from Latin ōrātōrius. Doublet of oratory.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.