Meaning & use
diatribe
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Meaning
nouncountable
A long, angry attack in speech or writing against a person, idea or institution.
Grammar: Often followed by against or about: a diatribe against the council.
Patterns
- a diatribe against someone
- a diatribe about something
- launch into a diatribe
He launched into a diatribe about the neighbors' noise.
The article was a diatribe against modern education.
She sat quietly through her uncle's political diatribe.
Word forms
| plural | diatribes |
|---|
Common combinations
- launch into a diatribe
- He launched into a diatribe about traffic.
- deliver a diatribe
- The coach delivered a diatribe after the loss.
- a bitter diatribe
- She wrote a bitter diatribe against the company.
- a long diatribe
- I endured a long diatribe about prices.
- diatribe against
- His blog is a diatribe against the media.
Synonyms and how they differ
- tirade
- Tirade is very close but emphasizes loud angry speech.
- harangue
- A harangue is a loud, forceful speech to an audience.
- rant
- Rant is more informal and may be more emotional than reasoned.
- polemic
- Polemic is a strong written attack that may argue seriously for a position.
Opposites
Commonly confused: diatribe or dichotomy?
diatribe vs dichotomy
A dichotomy is a division into two opposites; a diatribe is an angry speech.
Practice
The audience was surprised when the speaker suddenly launched into a ____ about rude drivers.
Choose one answer.
A diatribe is a long angry speech. A diagram is a drawing, a diagnosis is an identification of a problem, and a dialect is a regional form of language.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “diatribe”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.