Tuesday, June 2, 2009

hortatory

hortatory \HOR-tuh-tor-ee\, adjective:

Marked by strong urging; serving to encourage or incite; as, "a hortatory speech."

Example Quotes:

He later gave up the ministry in the conviction that he could reach thousands with his beguiling pen and only hundreds with his hortatory voice.
-- Carl Van Doren, The American Novel, 1789-1939
Instead of "Home Run, Jack," the hortatory message that greets the batter at the plate is the subliminal one that surfaces: "Run Home, Jack."
-- Marjorie Garber, Symptoms of Culture
The former West German Chancellor's book . . . is a call to action, and, even in this good translation, the book relies heavily on the hortatory language of political appeals.
-- Tamar Jacoby, "Carrots and Sticks", New York Times, August 24, 1986

Example Sentences:

The mayor's hortatory speech spurred me to organize a carpool with my Prius.
-- Brought to you by the 3rd Generation Prius

Hortatory is from Latin hortatorius, from hortari, "to exhort, to incite, to encourage."

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