noun
Pronunciation: ['dI-ê-trIb]
Definition: An unrelenting tirade of criticism, a scathing verbal attack on someone or something comprising unbridled invective.
Usage: If a tirade is an intemperate even vituperative verbal attack, a diatribe is a protracted tirade, a tirade that goes on too long. A polemic is an aggressive verbal attack by an opinionated partisan of an opposing position that may be on point. A harangue is a rambling, vituperative verbal attack that ranges way off point if not missing it altogether. Finally, a jeremiad is an angry but also cautionary verbal tirade while our former Word of the Day, rodomontade, is a tirade of self-serving boasting.
Suggested Usage: We hope, of course, you never have to use this word; the behavior it refers to only aggravates a situation. However, you may find circumstances where comments like these fit: "In the middle of his diatribe on the evils of using office telephones for personal use, his wife called to remind him to pick up some pork chops on the way home." "Mom, why don't you tidy up the rest of the house before launching your next tirade on how messy my room is?"
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