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
Ettore Lattanzio2
: 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
Tom Williams 
Examples of diva in a Sentence
the reigning diva of daytime television
Recent Examples on the Web
Check out Maria Callas, opera’s defining diva; the genre-spanning genius of Mozart; and 21st-century composers like Caroline Shaw and Thomas Adès.
—Joshua Barone, New York Times, 9 Apr. 2024
There’s something about the show that gives me the courage to belt out the biggest diva hits of all time.
—Michael Schneider, Variety, 4 Apr. 2024
Prior to the game, Dion joined the Bruins back in the locker rooms to read off that day’s lineup — adding her own flair, as any iconic diva would.
—Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 22 Mar. 2024
So we got inspired by big screen divas like Sophia Loren, Gina Lollobrigida, Sylva Koscina, Italian stars of the ’60s.
—Tiziana Cardini, Vogue, 5 Apr. 2024
But Beyoncé, ready to become a true diva in the operatic sense, keeps insisting that crying together is the only way to achieve world peace.
—Rolling Stone, 2 Apr. 2024
Accusation and projection must provide some of her lifeblood, but a real old-school diva, as the etiquette goes, is not going to outright admit to the nature of her bottomless appetite.
—Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2024
With long, beaded braids, the pop diva holds a smoky cigar in her right hand, holds her chest with her left hand and poses in the nude, with just a sash covering her up.
—Alexandra Del Rosario, Los Angeles Times, 22 Mar. 2024
At a position where many players are labeled as divas, Allen became known as The Captain, a label Chargers broadcasters popularized.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Mar. 2024
Joshua Barone, New York Times, 9 Apr. 2024
There’s something about the show that gives me the courage to belt out the biggest diva hits of all time.
—Michael Schneider, Variety, 4 Apr. 2024
Prior to the game, Dion joined the Bruins back in the locker rooms to read off that day’s lineup — adding her own flair, as any iconic diva would.
—Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 22 Mar. 2024
So we got inspired by big screen divas like Sophia Loren, Gina Lollobrigida, Sylva Koscina, Italian stars of the ’60s.
—Tiziana Cardini, Vogue, 5 Apr. 2024
But Beyoncé, ready to become a true diva in the operatic sense, keeps insisting that crying together is the only way to achieve world peace.
—Rolling Stone, 2 Apr. 2024
Accusation and projection must provide some of her lifeblood, but a real old-school diva, as the etiquette goes, is not going to outright admit to the nature of her bottomless appetite.
—Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2024
With long, beaded braids, the pop diva holds a smoky cigar in her right hand, holds her chest with her left hand and poses in the nude, with just a sash covering her up.
—Alexandra Del Rosario, Los Angeles Times, 22 Mar. 2024
At a position where many players are labeled as divas, Allen became known as The Captain, a label Chargers broadcasters popularized.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'diva.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Diva.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/diva. Accessed 1 May. 2024.
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