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Examples of diatribe in a Sentence
- … his apparent inability to keep his pen from drifting from the main objective of his words into diatribe must have taken away from the sound and otherwise convincing arguments that he advanced. —Henry Petroski, Engineers of Dreams, 1995
- I looked … and listened to her ahistorical and apolitical diatribe. Her comments were a more extreme form of the kind of Black bashing I've often heard … —Itabari Njeri, "Sushi and Grits," in Lure and Loathing, 1993
- … gradually I realize the headman's diatribe has begun to feature a new term I was unfamiliar with at the time—the word for caterpillar, as it turns out, in the Iban dialect. —T. Coraghessan Boyle, Harper's, April 1993
The article is a diatribe against mainstream media.
a bitter diatribe about how unfair the tax system is
Recent Examples of diatribe from the Web
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Stay tuned for his inevitable diatribe against apple pie.
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Top Russian defense and security officials on Wednesday launched diatribes at the West, accusing it of fomenting a new Cold War in a bid to retain waning influence in global affairs.
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His diatribe against Mexican rapists became an instant hit among the same populous voters who had cheered candidates like Cain and Bachmann.
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Their routine is ‘Diamond and Silk,’ the names Lynnette, 46, and Rochelle, 47, used to go viral during the presidential campaign with their chatty diatribes on politics.
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But not before Merkel and other top officials in the German government had publicly fired back at Trump’s breakfast diatribe.
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Recently, Baker found himself in Los Angeles at the time of West’s TMZ diatribe with two footwear options: a pair of Black Cement Air Jordans 3s—and his Yeezy 350s.
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Trump lashed out at Mueller’s probe and the Justice Department in an eight-minute diatribe to reporters Monday evening.
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As a result, Instagram feels more intimate than Facebook, where photos and videos often sit alongside lengthy diatribes, restaurant check-ins and mundane status updates.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'diatribe.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
History of diatribe
In modern times, a diatribe is not something most of us want to endure:
Our manager privately subjected a few of us to a lengthy diatribe about how terrible the company's new policy is.
I'd prefer a reasoned argument to the diatribes that typically litter the newspaper's editorial page.
That wasn't true in the word's early days, though.
When English speakers adopted diatribe in the late 16th century, they were glancing back at the ancients. The word comes from Greek diatribē, meaning "pastime" or "discourse," by way of Latin diatriba. The English word first referred to the popular lectures of ancient Greek and Roman philosophers, the usual topic of which was ethics.
When the word diatribe referred to written work in this context, that work was understood to be either a transcription of such a lecture, or a written development of one. According to some, these oral and written diatribes were the model on which modern sermons were built.
Over time, this very specific meaning of diatribe developed a more general meaning that didn't require the ancients themselves: any prolonged discourse—written or oral—could be considered a diatribe. That sense of the word, however, is now archaic; you don't typically find it in modern contexts.
When diatribe is used today, the connotation is quite different. The word most often refers to a bitter or abusive speech or piece of writing, as in the examples given above.
Origin and Etymology of diatribe
Latin diatriba, from Greek diatribē pastime, discourse, from diatribein to spend (time), wear away, from dia- + tribein to rub — more at 1throw
NEW! Time Traveler
First Known Use: 1581
in the meaning defined at sense 3
See Words from the same yeardiatribe Synonyms
Near Antonyms
encomium, eulogy, panegyric, rhapsody, tribute;
acclaim, acclamation, accolade, citation, homage, honor, praise;
approval, blessing, commendation, endorsement (also indorsement), sanction;
Related Words
assault, attack, broadside, invective, lambasting, lashing, tongue-lashing, vituperation;
berating, chewing out, rebuke, reprimand, reproach, reproof;
abuse, castigation, censure, condemnation, denunciation;
DIATRIBE Defined for English Language Learners
Definition of diatribe for English Language Learners
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: an angry and usually long speech or piece of writing that strongly criticizes someone or something
Learn More about diatribe
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See words that rhyme with diatribe Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for diatribe Spanish Central: Translation of diatribe Nglish: Translation of diatribe for Spanish speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about diatribe
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