dithyramb

/ˈdɪθəˌræm/

Other forms: dithyrambs

A dithyramb is a speech or piece of writing that bursts with enthusiasm. A dithyramb is full of passion and purpose, so save it for a special occasion.

The next time you hear a wildly enthusiastic speech, pull this word out of your hat to describe it. The Greek original was the name for a passionate choral hymn, typically to Dionysus. Since then, dithyramb came to mean a poem with similar passion, and then any type of writing or speech that bursts with enthusiasm. A love letter could be called a dithyramb. A powerful speech on behalf of justice could be called a dithyramb. Dithyrambs are passionate.

Definitions of dithyramb

1. noun

   (ancient Greece) a passionate hymn (usually in honor of Dionysus)
   type of:

   anthem, hymn

   a song of praise (to God or to a saint or to a nation)
2. noun

   a wildly enthusiastic speech or piece of writing
   type of:

   piece of writing, writing, written material

   the work of a writer; anything expressed in letters of the alphabet (especially when considered from the point of view of style and effect)

   address, speech

   the act of delivering a formal spoken communication to an audience