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

• queen
• princess

Examples of diva in a Sentence

the reigning diva of daytime television

Recent Examples on the Web

Following in the footsteps of Donatella, the diva herself, Vitale had some big stilettos to fill with a great deal to prove, and Vitale didn’t play it safe. —Ludwig Hurtado, Them., 29 Sep. 2025

No diva designer-in-the-ivory tower behavior here. —Luisa Zargani, Footwear News, 26 Sep. 2025

Beyoncé fuels rock album speculation during Halloween 2024 Last year, Beyoncé transformed into the funk-rock diva Betty Davis for Halloween, prompting fans to speculate that a rock album could be next. —Caché McClay, USA Today, 26 Sep. 2025

In the long annals of the Monterey Jazz Festival, 2025 will be remembered as the year of the diva. —Andrew Gilbert, Mercury News, 25 Sep. 2025

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

Rhymes for diva

• iva
• shiva
• viva
• gingiva
• oliva
• yeshiva

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)