furor

noun

fu·​ror ˈfyu̇r-ˌȯr 

-ər

1

: an angry or maniacal fit : rage

furor of the god of war

—Henry Fuseli

2

: fury sense 4

3

: a fashionable craze : vogue

her singing … made her the furor of Paris overnight

—Janet Flanner

4

a

: furious or hectic activity

confusion and furor within the Pentagon over research and development spending

—T. M. Bernstein

b

: an outburst of public excitement or indignation : uproar

Amid the furor, the senator continues to deny the allegations.

Synonyms

• ado
• alarums and excursions
• ballyhoo
• blather
• bluster
• bobbery
• bother
• bustle
• clatter
• clutter [chiefly dialect]
• coil
• commotion
• corroboree [Australian]
• disturbance
• do [chiefly dialect]
• foofaraw
• fun
• furore
• fuss
• helter-skelter
• hoo-ha
• hoo-hah
• hoopla
• hubble-bubble
• hubbub
• hullabaloo
• hurly
• hurly-burly
• hurricane
• hurry
• hurry-scurry
• hurry-skurry
• kerfuffle [chiefly British]
• moil
• pandemonium
• pother
• row
• ruckus
• ruction
• rumpus
• shindy
• splore [Scottish]
• squall
• stew
• stir
• storm
• to-do
• tumult
• turmoil
• uproar
• welter
• whirl
• williwaw
• zoo

Examples of furor in a Sentence

The book caused a furor across the country.

Amid a public furor, the senator continues to deny the allegations.

Recent Examples on the Web

Explaining the ‘bias meter’ The furor over the newspaper’s non-endorsement was dying down this month when Soon-Shiong again became a trending topic on social media. —James Rainey, Los Angeles Times, 15 Dec. 2024

Many Republicans quickly expressed their furor with the president’s move, with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) referring to it as abusing the justice system. —Tara Suter, The Hill, 3 Dec. 2024

Not long afterward, a photo leaked of the legislators posed with Astiz, setting off a furor. —Jon Lee Anderson, The New Yorker, 2 Dec. 2024

During the presidential debate in September, the Republican presidential nominee described Aurora as overrun by Venezuelan prison gangs, making the city a focus of anti-immigrant furor. —Anjeanette Damon, ProPublica, 4 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle French & Latin; Middle French, from Latin, from furere to rage

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

furor

noun

fu·​ror ˈfyu̇r-ˌȯr 

-ˌōr

1

: fury sense 1, rage

2

: an outburst of excitement : uproar