fury

noun

fu·​ry ˈfyu̇r-ē 

ˈfyər-

plural furies

1

: intense, disordered, and often destructive rage

2

a

capitalized : any of the avenging deities in Greek mythology who torment criminals and inflict plagues

b

: an avenging spirit

c

: one who resembles an avenging spirit

especially : a spiteful woman

3

: extreme fierceness or violence

4

: a state of inspired exaltation : frenzy

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Dire Straits and Furies

Dire and fury share a history in Roman mythology, as each of these words is connected to the Erinyes, the avenging and terrifying deities of ancient myth who tormented criminals. The Romans referred to these goddesses as either the Dirae or the Furiae. The former is from the Latin word dirus, from which dire is descended, and the latter comes from furere, from where we get fury. The word dire is often found in conjunction with straits; in dire straits is used of a situation that is very bad or difficult. Our records indicate that this phrase began to be used in English at the end of the 18th century, when it appeared in Francis Fawkes’s The Argonautics of Apollonius Rhodius: “When now the heroes through the vast profound, Reach the dire straits with rocks encompass’d round.”

Synonyms

• battle-ax
• battle-axe
• dragon lady
• harpy
• harridan
• shrew
• termagant
• virago
• vixen

Choose the Right Synonym for fury

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 fury in a Sentence

I could see the fury in her eyes.

Nothing could contain his fury over their accusations.

He turned away from them in fury.

The hurricane unleashed its fury on hundreds of homes and businesses.

Recent Examples on the Web

Read: The fury of Chris Rock Rock’s opening monologue last night was playfully deceptive too. —Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 15 Dec. 2024

In pictures: Hurricane Helene unleashes its fury 1 of 69 There are also models in development combining machine learning with real-world physics — known as hybrid models — that could be the solution to some of these problems. —Mary Gilbert, CNN, 13 Dec. 2024

David Berding/Getty Images for People's Action Institute The fury over the state of U.S. health care isn't going away. —Maria Aspan, NPR, 12 Dec. 2024

But the public fury directed at health insurance companies in the wake of Thompson's killing, combined with a growing populist wing of the Republican party, could shift the tenor. —Maya Goldman, Axios, 12 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English furie, from Latin furia, from furere to rage

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing fury

• sound and fury

Kids Definition

fury

noun

fu·​ry ˈfyu̇(ə)r-ē 

plural furies

1

: violent anger

threw the vase in a fury

2

a

capitalized : one of the avenging spirits of Greek and Roman mythology

b

: a violently angry person

3

: wild and dangerous force

the fury of the storm