diva

noun

di·​va ˈdē-və 

plural divas or dive ˈdē-(ˌ)vā 

1

a

music : prima donna sense 1

b

: prima donna sense 2

… if a team asks me to play somewhere else, I'm not going to be a diva about it.

—Ettore Lattanzio

2

: a usually glamorous and successful female performer or personality (see personality sense 4b)

a fashion diva

especially : a popular female singer

pop divas

The original diva and Queen Of Soul, Aretha Franklin, appears to have brought US President Barack Obama to tears (and then to his feet) with a stellar performance of (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman …

—Tom Williams

Synonyms

• goddess
• princess
• queen

Examples of diva in a Sentence

the reigning diva of daytime television

Recent Examples on the Web

Aguilera, Lopez and Shakira are now considered pop divas— the latter two even shared the stage during the 2020 Super Bowl halftime show. —Andrea Flores, Los Angeles Times, 20 May 2024

His excitement at finding both a romantic and creative partner kicks up another notch when his father reveals that Simon’s mother Claire (Anne-Marie Cadieux), a celebrated opera diva, is coming to Montreal to perform and wants to have supper with her children. —David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 May 2024

Word History

Etymology

Italian, literally, goddess, from Latin, feminine of divus divine, god — more at deity

First Known Use

1883, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

diva

noun

di·​va ˈdē-və 

plural divas or dive -ˌvā 

1

a

: PRIMA DONNA sense 1

b

: PRIMA DONNA sense 2

2

: a usually glamorous and successful female performer or celebrity

a fashion diva

especially : a popular female singer

pop divas

Etymology

from Italian diva "goddess," from Latin diva (same meaning)