Learn English – Can “Tirade” be used for a *non-angry* lengthy, boring speech/text

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When looking for a word for a lengthy, tedious, boring, text*, I had the feeling that tirade could be the right one.

However I looked it up in on-line dictionaries and all of the the ones I consulted say that it's supposed to refer to an angry speech/text.

I'm not yet convinced though, I think I heard it used for what I'm looking for, in a humorous manner (and maybe the dictionaries I looked up only reported the canonical meaning).

So, can you native speakers confirm, or confute, my impression?

* I have already, unsatisfactorily, read Idiom to describe a text (or speech) which is too long.

Best Answer

If you want a word that is non-angry, long, and boring, then tirade is not it. The dictionaries aren't wrong. A tirade is given in anger.

Perhaps you're thinking of the third sense of Merriam-Webster's definition of monologue:

3 : a long speech monopolizing conversation
// I stifled a yawn as she continued her monologue about her vacation experiences.

This has the advantage of being applicable to both speech and text.


Or, there's the verb drone:

b : to talk in a persistently dull or monotonous tone
// droning on and on about his health

However, this one is applicable only to speech.

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