anger

1 of 2

noun

an·​ger ˈaŋ-gər 

plural angers

1

: a strong feeling of displeasure and usually of antagonism (see antagonism sense 1b)

You could hear the anger in his voice.

She found it hard to control her anger.

His mind had teemed with a hundred hurts and angers.

—Irving Wallace

2

: a threatening or violent appearance or state : rage sense 2

the sea's anger

Suddenly it was swept by a strong gust of wind … . New thunder, new anger came rolling over their heads.

—Rita Madocs

angerless

ˈaŋ-gər-ləs 

adjective

anger

2 of 2

verb

angered; angering ˈaŋ-g(ə-)riŋ 

transitive verb

: to make (someone) angry

He was angered by the decision.

intransitive verb

: to become angry

a man who angers easily

Synonyms

Noun

• angriness
• birse [chiefly Scottish]
• choler
• furor
• fury
• indignation
• irateness
• ire
• lividity
• lividness
• mad
• madness
• mood [archaic]
• outrage
• rage
• spleen
• wrath
• wrathfulness

Verb

• enrage
• incense
• inflame
• enflame
• infuriate
• ire
• mad
• madden
• outrage
• rankle
• rile
• roil
• steam up
• tick off

Choose the Right Synonym for anger

anger, ire, rage, fury, indignation, wrath mean an intense emotional state induced by displeasure.

anger, the most general term, names the reaction but by itself does not convey cause or intensity.

tried to hide his anger

ire, more frequent in literary contexts, suggests an intense anger, often with an evident display of feeling.

cheeks flushed with ire

rage and fury suggest loss of self-control from violence of emotion.

shook with rage

could not contain his fury

indignation stresses righteous anger at what one considers unfair, mean, or shameful.

a comment that caused general indignation

wrath is likely to suggest a desire or intent to punish or get revenge.

I feared her wrath if I was discovered

Examples of anger in a Sentence

Noun

He couldn't hide his anger with us.

You could hear the anger in his voice.

The group expressed its anger over the company's arrogance.

He said that he had no anger towards the person who shot him.

He never raised his voice in anger.

She was shaking in anger.

Verb

They were shocked and angered by the company's arrogance.

He was angered to learn that he had been fired.

It angered me that she would say something like that.

He's a gentle man who's not easily angered.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

According to a press release, with each playlist, Swift has chosen songs from her own catalog that fit each stage of a breakup: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. —Marina Watts, People.com, 29 Nov. 2024

Research shows that writing allows individuals to process complex feelings, such as anger, sadness or disappointment, with greater depth and clarity. —Mark Travers, Forbes, 29 Nov. 2024

Verb

Many developing countries were angered by the modest deal on climate crisis financing that emerged by consensus from the Azerbaijan talks. —Hiroko Tabuchi, New York Times, 24 Nov. 2024

This angered Sonny, and the two couldn’t wait for their performance to end. —Rachel Burchfield, People.com, 19 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English anger, angre "distress, affliction, hostile attitude, strong displeasure," borrowed from Old Norse angr "grief, vexation," going back to Germanic *angaza-, from an Indo-European s-stem *h₂emǵ^h-es-/*h₂emǵ^h-os- (whence Latin angor "suffocation, anguish," Sanskrit áṁhaḥ "anxiety, trouble," Avestan ązah-), derivatives of a verbal base *h₂emǵ^h- "constrict, narrow," whence Latin angō, angere "to choke, cause pain to, afflict, vex," Greek ánchō, ánchein "to squeeze, strangle," Hittite ḫamanki "(s/he) ties, binds"; also from the base *h₂emǵ^h- an adjective derivative *h₂emǵ^h-u- "narrow," whence Germanic *angu- (> *angwu-, angwja-, whence Old English enge "narrow," ange "distressing," Old Saxon & Old High German engi "narrow," Old High German ango "anxious," Old Norse ǫngr, øngr, Gothic aggwus), Old Irish cumung "narrow," Welsh cyfyng, Old Church Slavic ǫzŭkŭ, Polish wązki, Armenian anjuk (Slavic & Armenian with a velar suffix), Sanskrit aṁhúḥ

Note: For other words formed from this Indo-European base see etymologies of angst entry 1, anguish entry 1, anxious, hangnail, quinsy.

Verb

Middle English angren "to be anxious, grieve, be vexed, irritate, afflict," probably in part derivative of anger, angre anger entry 1, in part borrowed from Old Norse angra "to grieve, vex," derivative of angr "grief, vexation"

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Phrases Containing anger

• more in sorrow than in anger

Kids Definition

anger

1 of 2 noun

an·​ger ˈaŋ-gər 

: a strong feeling of displeasure and usually of opposition toward someone or something

anger

2 of 2 verb

angered; angering

-g(ə-)riŋ

: to make angry