chafe
Americanverb (used with object)
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to wear or abrade by rubbing.
He chafed his shoes on the rocks.
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to make sore by rubbing.
Her collar chafed her neck.
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to irritate; annoy.
The dripping of the faucet chafed her nerves.
- Synonyms:
- provoke, trouble, vex, exasperate
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to warm by rubbing.
to chafe cold hands.
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Obsolete. to heat; make warm.
verb (used without object)
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to become worn or sore from rubbing.
His neck began to chafe from the starched collar.
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to rub; press with friction.
The horse chafed against his stall.
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to be irritated or annoyed.
He chafed at their constant interruptions.
noun
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irritation; annoyance.
-
heat, wear, or soreness caused by rubbing.
idioms
verb
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to make or become sore or worn by rubbing
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(tr) to warm (the hands, etc) by rubbing
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to irritate or be irritated or impatient
he was chafed because he was not allowed out
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(intr; often foll by on, against, etc) to cause friction; rub
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See champ 1
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have chafedperfect
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has chafedperfect 3rd person singular
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have been chafingperfect progressive
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are chafingprogressive
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has been chafingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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is chafingprogressive 3rd person singular
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am chafingprogressive 1st person singular
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chafessingular 3rd person
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chafingparticiple
Past
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had chafedperfect
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was chafingprogressive singular
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had been chafingperfect progressive
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were chafingprogressive plural
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chafedsimple
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chafedparticiple
Future
Etymology
Origin of chafe
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English chaufen “to heat, rub,” from Middle French chaufer, from Vulgar Latin calfāre (unrecorded), variant of Latin cal(e)facere, from cale-, stem of calēre “to be hot” + facere “to do, make”
Explanation
To chafe is to irritate or annoy. If your shoes chafe you, they rub your skin raw. Ouch. If you chafe at the suggestion that you should be studying more, the suggestion rubs you the wrong way. Chafe originally meant to warm, like a chafing dish on a hotel buffet. Though this may seem like a big jump, think of when your hands are cold and you rub them together to warm them up. So you can say that rubbed skin is kind of hot as is a temper flaring up from irritation. If you are a hot head, you are easily chafed.
Vocabulary lists containing chafe
Touching Spirit Bear
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The Odyssey
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Ender's Game
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
