Word of the Day

: September 10, 2023

orotund

adjective OR-uh-tund

What It Means

Orotund is a formal word used as a synonym of sonorous to describe something—usually a voice—marked by fullness, strength, and clarity of sound. It can also be used disapprovingly to mean "pompous" or "bombastic."

// As a child, she loved listening to her grandfather’s rich, orotund baritone as he told stories of his childhood growing up overseas.

// Every year the mayor gives a version of the same overblown, orotund speech, full of fancy promises they never seem to keep.

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orotund in Context

"The interplay of warring voices informs the thesis of Pan’s project. The abstract structure, at least compared to a traditional opera, piercingly emphasizes the beauty of its arrangements. Across the seamless span of 'A Found Lament' and 'A Tender Accent,' swooning sighs and orotund mezzo-soprano are backed by an almost melodic drone, and high-pitched voices cry out, '害怕! (Fear!),' to protest the minatory wall of mechanical sound encroaching on them." — Zhenzhen Yu, Pitchfork, 22 Jan. 2022

Did You Know?

An experiment: first breathe in deeply, then try to sing the strongest, lowest note that you can, at the utmost floor of your register. How lovely. Now, what vowel did you sing for your one-syllable song? We’ll bet you a skillet full of bacon it was o. Why? Shaping one’s mouth into an o-shape is pretty much a surefire way to produce an orotund or resonant sound, that is, one that is full, strong, and loud. Try the same exercise with a long e sound, as in sleep, and see (or hear) what we mean. Orotund comes from the Latin phrase ore rotundo, literally meaning "with round mouth." It was adopted into English in the late 18th century to describe the strength of one’s vocal delivery but has since picked up an additional sense of "pompous" or "bombastic" to describe inflated speech that may be full of sound and fury, yet signifies nothing.