Definition
nounA forceful and bitter verbal attack against someone or something.
nounAn abusive, bitter verbal or written attack, criticism or denunciation.
Sentence Examples
The host launched into a diatribe about declining standards in politics.
I don't have the time to read Tom's latest diatribe.
Word Origin & History
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)
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”)
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"“… No rogue e’er felt the halter draw, with a good opinion of the law, and perhaps my own detestation of the law arises from my having frequently broken it. If this long diatribe bores you, just say so, and I’ll cut it short.”"
— 1913, Robert Barr, chapter 4, in Lord Stranleigh Abroad:
"You know, it’s all this racial diatribe, and very strong language, screaming at the top of his lungs into the telephone."
— 1991, Bill Crow, Jazz Anecdotes, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 316:
"Aunt Petunia wasn’t eating anything at all. Her arms were folded, her lips were pursed and she seemed to be chewing her tongue, as though biting back the furious diatribe she longed to throw at Harry."
— 2000 July 8, J. K. Rowling [pseudonym; Joanne Rowling], “Back to the Burrow”, in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Harry Potter; 4), London: Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN, page 40:
"Lest this [be] read as a diatribe against DfT, I have some sympathy with it. That's because whenever there's a problem with the railway, the industry's solution is to ask DfT for billions of pounds."
— 2021 May 5, Philip Haigh, “I think we need better than this from the rail industry”, in RAIL, number 930, page 51: