Philippic
Definition, Meaning & Examples
Pronunciation /fɪˈlɪpɪk/ · Part of speech noun
Quick meaning: Philippic is a noun meaning Any of the discourses of Demosthenes against Philip II of Macedon, defending the liberty of Athens.
Meaning
Any of the discourses of Demosthenes against Philip II of Macedon, defending the liberty of Athens.
More Meanings
- (by extension) Any tirade or declamation full of bitter condemnation.
Example Sentences
[…] the Bema, from whence Demosthenes thundered his philippics and fired the wavering patriotism of his countrymen.
"Sir Robert Akhurst is a good man, a very good man, notwithstanding his philippic; but he is an old one, which makes all the difference."
Mrs. Ferrars looked exceedingly angry, and drawing herself up more stiffly than ever, pronounced in retort this bitter phillipic; “Miss Morton is Lord Morton’s daughter.”
As a young man, Lytton Strachey admired Hastings and wrote a long thesis on him, while dismissing Burke as ‘an ignorant enthusiast’. What strikes me on rereading those great philippics is, on the contrary, their exactness and perceptiveness.
Word Forms
- philippics
- philippick
Synonyms for philippic
Depending on context, synonyms include admonition, condemnation, diatribe, dithyramb, harangue, impugnation.
Related Words
Related dictionary entries include tirade, broadside, orations, philippick, polemical, polemicism.
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Sources & Attribution
FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.