noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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/ˈdaɪ.əˌtɹaɪb/
dīˈ -ə-trībˌ
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:D AY1 AH0 T R AY2 B
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
An abusive, bitter verbal or written attack, criticism or denunciation.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
to throw a diatribe
The senator was prone to diatribes which could go on for more than an hour.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
A prolonged discourse; a long-winded speech.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
thunderous verbal attack
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: fulmination
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: denunciation, denouncement
History
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dwóh1 Proto-Indo-European *dwísder. Ancient Greek διά (diá) Ancient Greek δῐᾰ- (dĭă-) Proto-Indo-European *terh1-der. Ancient Greek τρῑ́βω (trī́bō) Ancient Greek δῐᾰτρῑ́βω (dĭătrī́bō) Proto-Indo-European *-h2 Proto-Indo-European *-éh2 Ancient Greek -ᾱ (-ā) Ancient Greek -η (-ē) Ancient Greek δῐᾰτρῐβή (dĭătrĭbḗ)der. Latin diatribader. French diatribebor. English diatribe First attested 1581, borrowed from French diatribe, from Latin diatriba (“learned discussion or discourse”), from Ancient Greek διατριβή (diatribḗ, “way of spending time, lecture”), from διά (diá, “through”) + τρίβω (tríbō, “to waste, wear out”)
Across languages
Translations
38 source translations are retained for this English entry.
