diatribe
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of diatribe
1575–85; < Latin diatriba < Greek diatribḗ pastime, study, discourse, derivative of diatríbein to rub away ( dia- dia- + tríbein to rub)
Explanation
It's pretty overwhelming when you ask your friend a seemingly innocuous question, like "Do you like hot dogs?" and she unleashes a diatribe about the evils of eating meat. A diatribe is an angry, critical speech. This noun has its roots in the Greek diatribē, "pastime or lecture," from diatrībein, "to waste time or wear away," combining dia-, "thoroughly," and trībein, "to rub." So the origin of the word diatribe is connected to both serious study and the spending or wasting of time. With most diatribes, the speaker thinks he's well informed and knows something the listener doesn't, while to most listeners the diatribe is so angry and unhinged that it's just a waste of time.
Vocabulary lists containing diatribe
100 SAT Words Beginning with "D"
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Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
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"The Ransom of Red Chief" by O. Henry
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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.
Hardy’s mic was shut off, and he was forcibly ejected from the hearing after his comments led to a rambling diatribe.
From Slate • Apr. 10, 2026
Anyway, the part of his diatribe about congested urban areas and highbrow people is why I cited that quote, because it is an unobstructed view into his mindset.
From Salon • Mar. 23, 2026
His first brush with the law dated back to 1974 when he released his famous album "Zombie", generally considered by the military authorities in power as a diatribe levelled at them.
From Barron's • Jan. 30, 2026
Staying close to her family in the Mediterranean city of Tartus during the Covid-19 pandemic, she sent him a voice message, playing back a piece of his diatribe that had been secretly recorded.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 29, 2025
Her mother told her not to worry and launched into a diatribe about the medical technologies of the seventies until Alma interrupted her.
From "The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates" by Wes Moore
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.
