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 of diva

• queen
• princess

Examples of diva in a Sentence

the reigning diva of daytime television

Recent Examples on the Web

At center stage, a fey stranger appears, warbling in a high operatic voice, with bright-blue gel patches under his eyes and a white towel wrapped around his head, diva style. — Emily Nussbaum, New Yorker, 5 Nov. 2026

The dress evoked the diva energy of the Old Hollywood era, with each bead hand-sewn onto the stretch mesh fabric. — Julia Teti, Footwear News, 29 Oct. 2026

There was a parallel with the way that Sebastián meets her and with real life, because there’s always this admiration thing for a diva. — David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 21 Oct. 2026

Johansson, as the PR nightmare pop diva, matches him and even gets to show off her musical chops in a couple of the songs provided by New Zealand’s Kimba. — Pete Hammond, Deadline, 10 Oct. 2026

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

Rhymes for diva

• iva
• shiva
• viva
• gingiva
• oliva
• yeshiva

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)