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

And what is Winnie but a great diva’s part—Beckett’s greatest? —Han Ong, New Yorker, 22 June 2025

And then, like a rousing 11 o’clock number in the awards race, wild interpersonal diva drama! —Bethy Squires, Vulture, 9 June 2025

The two form an unlikely bond as Molina recounts the plot of a Hollywood musical starring his favorite silver screen diva, Ingrid Luna (Jennifer Lopez). —Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 5 June 2025

The show savages comedic divas, lascivious network executives, Vegas casino moguls, quirky denizens of writers’ rooms and every flavor of personal assistant imaginable. —Howard Homonoff, Forbes.com, 28 May 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)