harangue

1 of 2

noun

ha·​rangue hə-ˈraŋ How to pronounce harangue (audio)
1
: a speech addressed to a public assembly
listening to his capacious harangue and its immaculate deliverySir Winston Churchill
2
: a ranting speech or writing
emotional and frequently violent haranguesK. E. Read
the long, tiresome harangue so characteristic of … books on the subjectJ. H. Donnelly
3
: lecture
gave me a harangue on the subject of my poor grades

harangue

2 of 2

verb

harangued; haranguing

intransitive verb

: to make a harangue (see harangue entry 1) : declaim
poets … and philosophers recited their works, and harangued for diversionTobias Smollett

transitive verb

: to address in a harangue
haranguing me … on the folly of my waysJay Jacobs
haranguer noun

Did you know?

In Old Italian, the verb aringare meant "to speak in public," the noun aringo referred to a public assembly, and the noun aringa referred to a public speech. Aringa was borrowed into Middle French as arenge, and it is from this form that we get our noun harangue, which made its first appearance in English in the 16th century with that same "public speech" meaning. Perhaps due to the bombastic or exasperated nature of some public speeches, the term quickly developed an added sense referring to a forceful or angry speech or piece of writing, making it a synonym of rant. By the mid-17th century, the verb harangue made it possible to harangue others with such speech or writing.

Examples of harangue in a Sentence

Noun He delivered a long harangue about the evils of popular culture. launched into a long harangue about poor customer service without realizing that I wasn't even an employee! Verb He harangued us for hours about the evils of popular culture. the eminent professor harangued for three hours on his favorite subject, the clash of East and West
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
At the center of the opinions and harangues, and often their target, is Asaf Sternheim, a writer and teacher at an unnamed elite university. Marc Tracy, New York Times, 22 Feb. 2024 These cantankerous Brooklyn Jews made harangues seem like hugs. Jason Zinoman, New York Times, 29 Feb. 2024 In recent campaign appearances, Trump has tended to stand alone on the stage and deliver a harangue, but in Des Moines he was flanked by his sons Eric and Don, Jr., and devoted part of his meandering victory speech to the sports preferences and tall height of his youngest son, Barron. Benjamin Wallace-Wells, The New Yorker, 21 Jan. 2024 The three biggest takeaways from Biden’s harangue had nothing to do with the speech itself. Elizabeth Stauffer, Washington Examiner, 12 Jan. 2024 The Watergate tapes revealed Mr. Kissinger spending humiliating hours listening to the president’s harangues, including antisemitic comments delivered to his Jewish secretary of state. David E. Sanger, New York Times, 30 Nov. 2023 The result has been a policy with all the appeal of a moral principle and all the effectiveness of a tired harangue. Benjamin Weinthal, Fox News, 12 Oct. 2023 The harangue was, seemingly, Strickland’s last line of defense as his restaurant headed into the holidays without its liquor licenses, which ABC had officially suspended on Nov. 15 because the owner had refused to follow coronavirus restrictions during the height of the pandemic. Tim Carman, Washington Post, 5 Dec. 2022 Befitting its earlier title, Americana is a spirited harangue on deadbeat roommates, psychobabbling girlfriends, felonious buddies, trendy tattoos, four-by-fours—the whole morass of tacky, polyglot American culture as experienced from a suburban sofa. Chris Norris, SPIN, 4 Sep. 2022
Verb
Some matters were covered, but the unanticipated delay pretty much opened the door again to further haranguing about the attorney-client privilege that everyone knew was going to be invoked once the witness arrived and got into the witness stand. Lance Eliot, Forbes, 19 Feb. 2024 Kevin Mullin, a first-term Democrat from the Bay Area, who has also declined to call for a cease-fire, was harangued, along with his wife and two small children, by protesters outside his home, including on Christmas. Ross Barkan, New York Times, 7 Feb. 2024 His distinctive monotone, used to harangue and belittle those who challenge him, lifted into song. Linda Robertson, Miami Herald, 20 Dec. 2023 The scene was familiar: Angry senators haranguing tech CEOs about the latest horrors social media has wrought. Will Oremus, Washington Post, 1 Feb. 2024 His months of haranguing Harvard University president Claudine Gay ended in her resignation. Annie Massa, Fortune, 13 Jan. 2024 Yes, the man who will spend the next week haranguing about threats to democracy seems to be doing an exceptional job of preventing it in his own party. James Freeman, WSJ, 3 Jan. 2024 Some speakers at Wednesday’s demonstration harangued the NYPD and called it complicit in Israeli killings of Palestinians, while protesters accused the police of making arbitrary arrests at past events. Simon Montlake, The Christian Science Monitor, 30 Nov. 2023 To his relief, there are no parents haranguing umpires or arguing calls. Daniel Wu, Washington Post, 21 Aug. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'harangue.' 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

Noun and Verb

Middle French arenge, from Old Italian aringa, from aringare to speak in public, from aringo public assembly, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German hring ring

First Known Use

Noun

circa 1533, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1640, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of harangue was circa 1533

Podcast

Dictionary Entries Near harangue

Cite this Entry

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

Kids Definition

harangue

noun
ha·​rangue
hə-ˈraŋ
1
: a speech addressed to a public assembly
2
: a forceful or scolding speech or writing
harangue verb
haranguer
-ˈraŋ-ər
noun

More from Merriam-Webster on harangue

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!