First attested 1581, borrowed from French diatribe, from Latin diatriba, from Ancient Greek διατριβή, from διά ("through") + τρίβω ("I waste, wear out")

• IPA: /ˈdaɪ.əˌtɹaɪb/, enPR: dīˈ -ə-trībˌ

diatribe (plural diatribes)

1. An abusive, bitter verbal or written attack, criticism or denunciation.

   Synonyms: Thesaurus:diatribe

   The senator was prone to diatribes which could go on for more than an hour.

   • 2000 July 8, J. K. Rowling [pseudonym; Joanne Rowling], “Back to the Burrow”, in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Harry Potter; 4), London: Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN, page 40 ↗:

     Aunt Petunia wasn’t eating anything at all. Her arms were folded, her lips were pursed and she seemed to be chewing her tongue, as though biting back the furious diatribe she longed to throw at Harry.

2. A prolonged discourse; a long-winded speech.

• French: diatribe
• German: gehässiger Angriff, Hetze, Hetzrede, Hetzschrift, Ausfall
• Italian: diatriba
• Portuguese: diatribe
• Russian: диатриба
• Spanish: diatriba

• French: diatribe
• German: Suada
• Italian: diatriba, concione, arringa
• Portuguese: diatribe
• Russian: диатриба
• Spanish: diatriba