diva

noun

di·​va ˈdē-və 

plural divas or dive ˈdē-(ˌ)vā 

1

a

music : prima donna sense 1

b

: prima donna sense 2

… if a team asks me to play somewhere else, I'm not going to be a diva about it.

—Ettore Lattanzio

2

: a usually glamorous and successful female performer or personality (see personality sense 4b)

a fashion diva

especially : a popular female singer

pop divas

The original diva and Queen Of Soul, Aretha Franklin, appears to have brought US President Barack Obama to tears (and then to his feet) with a stellar performance of (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman …

—Tom Williams

Synonyms

• goddess
• princess
• queen

Examples of diva in a Sentence

the reigning diva of daytime television

Recent Examples on the Web

So we got inspired by big screen divas like Sophia Loren, Gina Lollobrigida, Sylva Koscina, Italian stars of the ’60s. —Tiziana Cardini, Vogue, 5 Apr. 2024

But Beyoncé, ready to become a true diva in the operatic sense, keeps insisting that crying together is the only way to achieve world peace. —Rolling Stone, 2 Apr. 2024

Accusation and projection must provide some of her lifeblood, but a real old-school diva, as the etiquette goes, is not going to outright admit to the nature of her bottomless appetite. —Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2024

With long, beaded braids, the pop diva holds a smoky cigar in her right hand, holds her chest with her left hand and poses in the nude, with just a sash covering her up. —Alexandra Del Rosario, Los Angeles Times, 22 Mar. 2024

At a position where many players are labeled as divas, Allen became known as The Captain, a label Chargers broadcasters popularized. —Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Mar. 2024

Gosling is Colt Seavers, the longtime stunt double for the world’s biggest action star/diva Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). —David Fear, Rolling Stone, 13 Mar. 2024

If nothing else, divas know divas, and country music divas are ready to welcome Beyonce into the fold. —Aj Willingham, CNN, 20 Feb. 2024

Kandi Burruss, the enterprising R&B diva who joined RHOA in season 2 in 2009, confirmed on the red carpet of the 2024 Grammy Awards that she's jumped the Bravo flagship. —Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 4 Feb. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Italian, literally, goddess, from Latin, feminine of divus divine, god — more at deity

First Known Use

1883, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

diva

noun

di·​va ˈdē-və 

plural divas or dive -ˌvā 

1

a

: PRIMA DONNA sense 1

b

: PRIMA DONNA sense 2

2

: a usually glamorous and successful female performer or celebrity

a fashion diva

especially : a popular female singer

pop divas

Etymology

from Italian diva "goddess," from Latin diva (same meaning)