adjective
-
full of wrath; raging or furious
-
resulting from or expressing wrath
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of wrathful
Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; see origin at wrath, -ful
Explanation
If you're wrathful, you're absolutely furious, brimming with anger. Enraged gods of many different religions are often described as wrathful. The wrathful kind of anger is so hardcore that it is often reserved for deities and royalty — a wrathful god might cause a flood, and a wrathful queen might scream, “Off with her head!” You can also use this adjective figuratively for something wild and stormy, like the wrathful lashing of rain on the deck of your sailboat. The Old English root of wrathful means "twisted or tormented."
Vocabulary lists containing wrathful
Mad Infinitum: Synonyms for "Angry"
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To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapters 1–11
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Angry
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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.
Wrathful indeed was Statesman Stimson at the Post.
From Time Magazine Archive
Wrathful shippers took their business to businesslike harbors.
From Time Magazine Archive
Wrathful lacemakers' representatives demanded revenge duties of 200% on U. S. automobiles and parts, prohibitive duties on other articles.
From Time Magazine Archive
Fifth Circle, that of the Wrathful and the Sullen.
From Divine Comedy, Norton's Translation, Hell by Norton, Charles Eliot
Wrathful fire gleamed in his bleared eyes; the stubble of his crimsoned face seemed not unlike the rising hackles of an enraged dog.
From The Lash by Lyman, Olin L.
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.
