PHILIPPIC Synonyms: 58 Similar and Opposite Words

philippic

noun

fə-ˈli-pik

Definition of philippic

as in jeremiad

a long angry speech or scolding the head coach was briefly suspended after launching into a foul-mouthed philippic during a press conference

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of philippic The Atlantic’s second issue included a thunderous philippic of some 7,600 words on the relentless encroachments of slavery and the fate of the Republic. — Jake Lundberg, The Atlantic, 12 Feb. 2026 How not to hear in his philippic the traces of an OCD inscribed in our cultural DNA, a sanctimony that launched the archetypal act of avoidance that forms our origin myth? — Andrew Kay, Harpers Magazine, 28 May 2025 The poet’s occasional philippics against capitalist excess are hard to distinguish from postwar politics, when former allies became lethal enemies, while in America the Red Scare of McCarthyism loomed. — William Logan, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2025 While its always welcome to see additional news outlets in the battle for truth, justice and the American way, this philippic certainly doesn’t deserve to be taken seriously as a dispenser of information. — Charles Selle, Chicago Tribune, 19 Sep. 2022

Recent Examples of Synonyms for philippic

Noun

My Fortune colleague Nick Lichtenberg had a good story on why the resignation jeremiad of former Anthropic and OpenAI safety researcher Jacob Coxon had such impact when previous warnings, often from much higher-profile individuals, did not.

— Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 15 Sep. 2026
Kelaidis reads their popularity as evidence that historical scholarship has become a kind of liberal jeremiad, offering moral reassurance through historical analogy.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 23 July 2026

Definition of jeremiad

Noun

During the 2007 ceremony, Field took to the stage to accept her award — only to be cut off after launching into an emotional diatribe about the war in Iraq.

— Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 15 Sep. 2026
The two agreed that Springsteen's penchant in recent years for going on mid-concert political diatribes is wearing a little thin.

— Matt Reigle OutKick, FOXNews.com, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of diatribe

Noun

After the run that Lisa couldn’t complete, Whitney tracks her down at the bottom of the mountain to officially apologize for her drunken tirade against her at that drag brunch, and against all odds, Lisa is fully ready to hear her out.

— Tom Smyth, Vulture, 24 Sep. 2026
Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher went on one of his bad-boy tirades during a performance at the 1996 show by swearing, wandering the stage and making lewd gestures during his brother Noel’s guitar solo.

— Kate Hogan, PEOPLE, 24 Sep. 2026

Definition of tirade

Noun

In Congo, where the outbreak has spread to seven provinces, responders have faced attacks on health teams, misinformation about the virus, a failure by locals to report symptoms and rebel violence that has limited access to treatment centers.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 7 Oct. 2026
An inmate died in an apparent homicide Tuesday morning after an attack by another prisoner at California State Prison, Sacramento, state corrections officials said.

— Michael McGough, Sacbee.com, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of attack

Noun

Carlson has faced criticism for interviewing Holocaust revisionist Darryl Cooper in 2024 and white nationalist Nick Fuentes, who has repeatedly denied the Holocaust, made antisemitic comments, and praised Adolf Hitler.

— Rena Rowe, The Washington Examiner, 3 Oct. 2026
The statement came only after Thomas called out the commissioner, intensifying criticism that the league had been reactive throughout the controversy.

— Jackson Thompson OutKick, FOXNews.com, 3 Oct. 2026

Definition of criticism

Noun

The movie is an epic series of harrumphs and harangues, propelled from room to room—and, in time, out into the world beyond the estate—by a spirit of impudent absurdism and corrosive cynicism which seems to emanate from Digger himself.

— Justin Chang, New Yorker, 30 Sep. 2026
Stephen Adly Guirgis, a New York playwright who specializes in urban pressure-cooker dramas, has a gift for writing subway strap-hanger harangues.

— Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 29 Apr. 2026

Definition of harangue

Noun

The two rituals have unfolded in parallel since the Christian church’s pastor, Sarah Lucas, preached a sermon condemning Arapaho ceremonial ways.

— Savannah Peters, Los Angeles Times, 14 Sep. 2026
Her words, as if plucked from a Sunday morning sermon, speak to the source of her strength.

— Nicole Avery Nichols, Freep.com, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of sermon

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philharmonics

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philippics

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“Philippic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/philippic. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of philippic

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