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Glite Dictionary
dithyrambic

dithyrambic

1 9.9
Very wild and excited speech or writing that shows strong praise
  • adjective
  • /ˌdɪθɪˈræmbɪk/
  • Archaic
: díthirambo

Examples

  • The Athenians also gathered in the theater to watch choirs of boys; for example, the City Dionysia included ten dithyrambic performances by boys.

    Academic text (2014)

  • The poet's dithyrambic verses captured the audience's imagination with their intense emotion and wild imagery.

  • In her dithyrambic performance, she expressed the tumult of love through passionate movements and fiery rhetoric.

  • The dithyrambic style of the play reflected the characters' turbulent emotions and chaotic lives.

Synonyms

Dionysiac
vsdithyrambic
  • Literature
1 9.9

Wild, emotional energy like at a loud, joyful party

is similar but names a passionate poetic performance rather than ritual celebration
psychodramatic
vsdithyrambic
1 8.7

Showing very strong, theatrical feelings like people acting in a play

is more about spontaneous passionate poetic expression than staged emotional acting

How Passionate

dithyrambic
  • Archaic
1 9.9
impassioned
28 5.8
passionate
359 2.8
earnest
37 4.2
restrained
26 5.3
measured
34 4.1

Surface Forms

dithyrambic positive

Morphology

dithyrambic = dithyramb (transparent) = dithyramb + ic

Formed by the productive adjective suffix '-ic' on 'dithyramb' giving 'relating to or characteristic of a dithyramb'; the meaning follows standard English derivation.

Etymology

Dithyrambic comes from Greek festival songs called dithyrambs, sung for the god Dionysus with loud, wild singing and dancing. So, because those songs were full of strong feeling, dithyrambic now means very passionate or wildly excited 'praise'.