enrage
Americanverb (used with object)
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
-
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
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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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The Sound and the Fury: Synonyms for "Anger"
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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
After all, what could enrage reactionaries more than a confident, gender-bending, anti-colonial Puerto Rican performing in Spanish on the country’s most mythologized stage?
From Salon ● Feb. 12, 2026
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
She hesitated, conscious that in answering she would be offering a form of defense, a rationale, and that it might enrage him further.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
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
"I look at my happy, healthy, 2 1/2-year-old daughter, and that enrages me," the Zurawski v.
From Salon ● Apr. 23, 2025
“There is enough housing, it’s just they’re not for the residents. It really enrages me.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 3, 2024
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
In Hugo von Hofmannsthal’s libretto, the enraged Menelaus tries to kill his errant wife Helena on their journey home from Troy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 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
General warrants and writs of assistance enraged the colonies precisely because they allowed British officials to rummage through homes and businesses without individualized suspicion.
From Slate ● May 20, 2026
But when Paishon reprimanded him for lagging behind, Julio became enraged.
From "Death on the River of Doubt" by Samantha Seiple
Maine called his death "devastating, enraging, and unacceptable" in a joint statement.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
The success also marks an extraordinary turnaround for an investor who was better known for the rare feat of enraging constituencies on both sides of the Atlantic.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 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
An appeals court declined to compel lower courts to sign the warrants, reportedly enraging Attorney General Pam Bondi.
From Salon ● Feb. 2, 2026
In the age of the telegraph, news of his words moved swiftly back to South Africa, enraging its white inhabitants.
From "Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science" by Marc Aronson
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.
