tirade

American  

[tahy-reyd, tahy-reyd] / ˈtaɪ reɪd, taɪˈreɪd /

noun

1. a prolonged outburst of bitter, outspoken denunciation.

   a tirade against smoking.

2. a long, vehement speech.

   a tirade in the Senate.

   Synonyms:

   diatribe, harangue

3. a passage dealing with a single theme or idea, as in poetry.

   the stately tirades of Corneille.

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tirade British  

/ taɪˈreɪd /

noun

1. a long angry speech or denunciation

2. rare prosody a speech or passage dealing with a single theme

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Etymology

Origin of tirade

1795–1805; < French: literally, a stretch, (continuous) pulling < Italian tirata, noun use of feminine of tirato, past participle of tirare to draw, pull, fire (a shot), of obscure origin

Example Sentences

Paul stepped on the scales calmly before breaking into a brief, animated and somewhat confusing tirade.

From BBC

On the contrary, she found Lady Constance’s frequent tirades rather wearying.

From Literature

The tirade went viral within hours, sparking widespread discussion, memes and commentary across Twitter/X, TikTok and Instagram.

From Salon

Reichert walked out of the bar to the crowded parking lot, and Wilson continued his tirade.

From The Wall Street Journal

He shook his head, ranted at his coaches on the bench, then launched a tirade towards the nearby fourth official.

From BBC

Related Words

• denunciation
• diatribe
• harangue
• invective
• ranting
• screed
• sermon