tirade

noun

ti·​rade ˈtī-ˌrād How to pronounce tirade (audio)
 also  ti-ˈrād
: a protracted speech usually marked by intemperate, vituperative, or harshly censorious language

Examples of tirade in a Sentence

He went into a tirade about the failures of the government. The coach directed a tirade at the team after the loss.
Recent Examples on the Web And one of the loudest voices in the conflict has been Tan, a participant of the movement to recall the city’s progressive district attorney and a source of intemperate tirades against the civic leaders. Steven Levy, WIRED, 15 Mar. 2024 The high ranking also comes despite accusations that the album — Ye’s first since his tirades against Jews in late 2022 — uses unauthorized samples from other artists, among other problems leading up to and following its Feb. 10 drop. Samantha Chery, Washington Post, 19 Feb. 2024 Women, kids, people of color, members of the LGBTQ community, service workers, characters with disabilities, and adherents of every major religion and political orthodoxy have all been targets of his tirades. TIME, 2 Feb. 2024 Fans noticed that West had seemed withdrawn and erratic on the tour, which eventually ended 20 dates early in Sacramento on Nov. 19, 2016, when West performed three songs before launching into a tirade about Facebook, Jay-Z, Hillary Clinton and Beyoncé before walking offstage. Dave Brooks, Billboard, 23 Feb. 2024 But Gibson’s public image suffered after his drunken antisemitic tirade during his 2006 DUI arrest. Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 23 Feb. 2024 In the graphic video, which has since been removed, the man also went on a 14-minute tirade, espousing right-wing conspiracy theories, demanding that President Biden resign and threatening to kill federal workers. Jintak Han, Washington Post, 31 Jan. 2024 But Mourinho was also given a series of bans for his protests and tirades against referees — which were clearly not appreciated by Roma’s American owners. Andrew Dampf, USA TODAY, 16 Jan. 2024 Clearly, Pinkett Smith is facing a tirade of scrutiny and is constantly dehumanised in every aspect of her life. Kushie Amin, refinery29.com, 30 Oct. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tirade.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

French, shot, tirade, from Middle French, from Old Italian tirata, from tirare to draw, shoot

First Known Use

1802, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of tirade was in 1802

Dictionary Entries Near tirade

Cite this Entry

“Tirade.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tirade. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

tirade

noun
ti·​rade tī-ˈrād How to pronounce tirade (audio)
ˈtī-ˌrād
: a long violent angry speech : harangue

More from Merriam-Webster on tirade

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!