jeremiad

noun jer·e·mi·ad \ ˌjer-ə-ˈmī-əd , -ˌad \

Updated on: 15 Mar 2018

Definition of jeremiad

: a prolonged lamentation or complaint; also : a cautionary or angry harangue

the warnings became jeremiads against the folly of overemphasis on science and technology at the expense of man's subjective and emotional life
—Ada Louise Huxtable

jeremiad was our Word of the Day on 01/28/2016. Hear the podcast!

Examples of jeremiad in a Sentence

a jeremiad against the political apathy shown by so many young people

Recent Examples of jeremiad from the Web

The real virtue of Frum’s jeremiad is its insight into the broadest implications of Trump and Trumpism.

— david v. hawpe, The Courier-Journal, "David Frum's 'Trumpocracy' is 'sustained howl of rage' against the president | Review," 24 Jan. 2018
Unlike some recent anti-tech jeremiads (including Keen’s two earlier books), the author portrays our current Internet dystopia in a larger context of human history.

— jeff john roberts, Fortune, "How to Take the Internet Back From the Tech Companies," 6 Feb. 2018
For many Americans, especially those disillusioned with Washington, a jeremiad over the imminent threat to all of America from Mr Trump simply does not ring true.

— The Economist, "American politicsThe one-year-old Trump presidency," 13 Jan. 2018
In a post-election jeremiad in Counterpunch, journalist Paul Street attacked Jones for running an ad that told the story of two Civil War soldiers — one from Alabama, one from Maine — to make a point about togetherness.

— david weigel, Washington Post, "Doug Jones, eager to speak for the South, embraces the spotlight," 15 Dec. 2017
DeVos rejected the false dichotomy that insists that the case for school choice rests on jeremiads against traditional public schools.

— grant addison, National Review, "Betsy DeVos vs. the Mindless Mob at Harvard," 2 Oct. 2017
Both are well-argued and accessible jeremiads against the monolithic impact of the tech giants, though neither definitively lands the case that there is anything that can realistically be done about them.

— brad stone, Bloomberg.com, "The Case Against Big Tech, Now at Your Local Bookstore (If You Still Have One)," 18 Sep. 2017
Apple was a leader in destroying America’s high-tech manufacturing base, sending assembly of its products to the suicide-prone factories of Foxconn and prompting a famous jeremiad from Intel’s Andy Grove.

— jon talton, The Seattle Times, "Tim Cook and ‘moral responsibility’ of corporations in the age of gridlock," 31 Aug. 2017
The author of this passionate, important jeremiad might have sought to treat a bit more thoughtfully the many others in the academy who share his concerns — to lecture less, and listen more, as good teachers do.

— kim phillips-fein, New York Times, "In ‘Campus Confidential,’ a Professor Laments That Teaching Is Not the Priority of Teachers," 22 Aug. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'jeremiad.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

Jeremiah was a naysayer. That Jewish prophet, who lived from about 650 to 570 BC, spent his days lambasting the Hebrews for their false worship and social injustice and denouncing the king for his selfishness, materialism, and inequities. When not calling on his people to quit their wicked ways, he was lamenting his own lot; a portion of the Old Testament's Book of Jeremiah is devoted to his "confessions," a series of lamentations on the hardships endured by a prophet with an unpopular message. Nowadays, English speakers use "Jeremiah" for a pessimistic person and "jeremiad" for the way these Jeremiahs carry on. The word jeremiad was actually borrowed from the French, who coined it as "jérémiade."