enrage
Americanverb (used with object)
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enrages,
present (3rd person singular)
-
enraged,
past participle, past
-
enraging
present participle
verb
Synonym Usage
Enrage, incense, infuriate imply stirring to violent anger. To enrage or to infuriate is to provoke wrath: They enrage ( infuriate ) him by their deliberate and continual injustice. To incense is to inflame with indignation or anger: to incense a person by making insulting remarks.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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enragesimple
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enragessimple
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have enragedperfect
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has enragedperfect
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am enragingprogressive
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are enragingprogressive
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is enragingprogressive
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have been enragingperfect progressive
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has been enragingperfect progressive
Past
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enragedsimple
-
had enragedperfect
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was enragingprogressive
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were enragingprogressive
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had been enragingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of enrage
First recorded in 1490–1500; from Middle French enrager, see en- 1, rage
Explanation
Things that enrage you make you mad. Really mad. People are not typically enraged by annoying things like paper cuts or long lines. They are more likely to become enraged by evil or injustice. Something that enrages you makes you incredibly angry. The news that their favorite teacher has been fired might enrage a group of students, and witnessing someone mistreating an animal might also enrage them. The 14th century verb enrage combines the prefix en-, "make or put in," and rage, with its Latin root rabies, "madness, rage, or fury."
Vocabulary lists containing enrage
Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Prefixes: en-, em-
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The Bad Beginning
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Anger (verb)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
That would certainly displease, even enrage, Mr. Trump.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 14, 2026
It’s the Epstein files that really enrage Kasamis.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 6, 2026
Unfortunately, one of the easiest ways to engage people is to enrage them.
From Slate ● Jan. 29, 2025
In exchange for helping to nail Leasure, France got immunity from the D.A.’s office — a deal that would forever enrage detectives on the case.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2024
The name of Saruman seemed specially to enrage him.
From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien
When Mr. Sveen says wolves “ruined” 40 lambs in one night, we assume he means they were left dead and uneaten and this enrages him, not unjustifiably.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 16, 2025
It enrages her that “some people have more barriers than others, whether it means that you’re working class or poor, or a person of color, or queer, or part of the gender spectrum.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2025
"I look at my happy, healthy, 2 1/2-year-old daughter, and that enrages me," the Zurawski v.
From Salon ● Apr. 23, 2025
And on the social media site X, where he has 425,000 followers, Mr. Tan doesn’t just rub some people the wrong way, he enrages them.
From New York Times ● Mar. 29, 2024
Whose heavy breathing neither enrages nor disgusts, but amuses you like that of a cherished pet.
From "Jazz" by Toni Morrison
The Times reporting enraged Trump, and the administration tried to unmask the paper’s sources before ultimately backing down.
From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026
He enraged his club by looking to leave.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
Year in and year out, in incidents small and noticeably larger, refinery accidents enraged neighbors and attracted regulators.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
On Wednesday night, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins reported being told that “the aerial image of the crowds from last week’s his rally enraged him so much that officials ended up deleting them.”
From Salon ● Jul. 3, 2026
The enraged timbre in Papa’s voice made my fingers cold at the tips.
From "Purple Hibiscus" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
And yet she has a gift for making politics relatable without enraging rhetoric since, as she points out, political figures are celebrities too.
From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2026
Before voting against the delay, Soto-Martínez, a former Unite Here organizer, called it sad and enraging.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2026
There are noteworthy nuggets, as we set out here, and the revelations about his payoff will be, to many, enraging.
From BBC ● Mar. 11, 2026
With Kiffin’s reputation at rock-bottom, he received a job offer from another coach with a history of bailing on jobs and enraging the fans he left behind.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 25, 2025
He stood silently for a moment, trying to think of how to say no without further enraging Trademaster.
From "Son" by Lois Lowry
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
