tirade

[ tahy-reyd, tahy-reyd ]

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.

tirade

/ taɪˈreɪd /

noun

1. a long angry speech or denunciation
2. rare.
   prosody a speech or passage dealing with a single theme

Word History and Origins

Origin of tirade¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of tirade¹

C19: from French, literally: a pulling, from Italian tirata, from tirare to pull, of uncertain origin

Example Sentences

Public health experts swiftly ripped apart and refuted Stock’s misstatements and mischaracterizations over the summer, but that didn’t stop clips of his tirade from gaining millions of views on social media.

From The Daily Beast

He later shared footage of his tirade in a tweet that was retweeted more than 16,000 times within several hours.

From Washington Post

The tirade lasted several minutes, these people said, and two other writers had to calm Mehta down.

From Washington Post

Other callers insulted Dearing’s staff members, subjecting them to long, curse-filled tirades, he said.

From ProPublica

Kaufman returns after the break to deliver an expletive-ridden tirade against Lawler.

From The Daily Beast

Did Geert Wilders, the famously xenophobic Dutch politician, crib from the Nazis for his latest anti-immigrant tirade?

From The Daily Beast

In December, he unleashed a tirade against them, saying they had “lost all credibility.”

From The Daily Beast

[] A Truly Epic Tirade On this particular morning, respected newsman Bill Bonds must not have eaten his Wheaties.

From The Daily Beast

In response to allegations of sexual harassment, Ford went off on yet another explicit tirade.

From The Daily Beast

In spite of her tirade, he had a feeling that it didn't matter, that she must bluster in her tiny teacup if she wanted to do so.

From Project Gutenberg

Mr. Brandon fired off a tirade of reproaches at me, and said he was glad to see I had turned white.

From Project Gutenberg

Mrs. Fane put out her hand to stop Michael's flowing tirade, but he paid no attention, talking away less to her than to himself.

From Project Gutenberg

I know you are a lady and I am not,' said Sarah, and then stopped, breathless from her tirade.

From Project Gutenberg

In Grundtvig, the taunting degenerates into a scurrilous tirade.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

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