harangue
Americannoun
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a scolding or a long or intense verbal attack; diatribe.
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a long, passionate, and vehement speech, especially one delivered before a public gathering.
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any long, pompous speech or writing of a tediously hortatory or didactic nature; sermonizing lecture or discourse.
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
verb
noun
Related Words
See speech
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of harangue
First recorded in 1530–40; (noun) from Middle French harangue. from Italian ar(r)inga “speech, oration,” noun derivative of ar(r)ingare “to speak in public,” verbal derivative of aringo “public square,” from unattested Gothic hriggs “ring” (verb) from Middle French haranguer, from Italian ar(r)ingare; see ring 1
Explanation
A harangue is more than a speech, louder than a discussion, and nastier than a lecture. It is a verbal attack that doesn't let up, delivered as a verb or received as a noun. Either way, it's pretty unpleasant. The word harangue developed its modern spelling around 1530, when the word was recorded as harangue in French. The word, meaning a strong, nasty rant, appears to have evolved from the Old Italian word aringa, probably from the word for a public square or place for public speaking. This in turn appears to have evolved from a Germanic word related to ring, as in "circular gathering," which is clearly similar to the Italian meaning.
Vocabulary lists containing harangue
Night
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"The Odyssey" by Homer, Books 1–7
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The Odyssey
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But, in a public Harangue, the style of his successors the Gracchi was far more easy and lively: and yet, even in their time, the Roman Eloquence had not reached its perfection.
From Cicero's Brutus or History of Famous Orators; also His Orator, or Accomplished Speaker. by Jones, E.
From whom Voltaire adopted it, with improvements, especially in the little Harangue; and from Voltaire gratefully the rest of mankind.
From History of Friedrich II of Prussia — Volume 13 by Carlyle, Thomas
What means this long Harangue? what does it aim at?
From The Works of Aphra Behn, Volume II by Summers, Montague
Harangue, formerly harengue, is Old High Ger. hring, Eng. ring, the allusion being to the circle formed by the audience.
From The Romance of Words (4th ed.) by Weekley, Ernest
Harangue of Bishop Spifame to the emperor, Le Laboureur, Add. aux M�m. de Castelnau, ii. 28-38.
From History of the Rise of the Huguenots Volume 2 by Baird, Henry Martyn
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
