enrage
Americanverb (used with object)
-
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
-
was enragingprogressive
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were enragingprogressive
-
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:
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
These predictions—and still more disturbing ones—both confuse and enrage Oedipus, and lead him to accuse Creon of unseemly ambition and betrayal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 14, 2025
Unfortunately, one of the easiest ways to engage people is to enrage them.
From Slate ● Jan. 29, 2025
How was it that he could enrage me so ?
From "Grendel" by John Gardner
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
Potholes is perhaps the archetypal example of an issue that enrages many.
From BBC ● Dec. 19, 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
This enrages Roy, who pushes over the podium and storms offstage with the other Roy Tillmans following him, aping his every gesture and statement.
From Salon ● Jan. 3, 2024
Whose heavy breathing neither enrages nor disgusts, but amuses you like that of a cherished pet.
From "Jazz" by Toni Morrison
“Anybody I spoke with was enraged about it.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
He was enraged that Harris hired his own lawyers and PR consultants as the Epstein crisis engulfed Apollo.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026
People are too busy searching for things “to be enraged about,” he said.
From Salon ● Aug. 21, 2026
The Times reporting enraged Trump, and the administration tried to unmask the paper’s sources before ultimately backing down.
From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026
Pax tried to scent, but the gusting breeze carried only the musk of enraged coyotes.
From "Pax" by Sara Pennypacker
Maine called his death "devastating, enraging, and unacceptable" in a joint statement.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
His superpower is enraging his opponents to the point that they can’t help but make a mistake out of sheer frustration.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 14, 2026
An appeals court declined to compel lower courts to sign the warrants, reportedly enraging Attorney General Pam Bondi.
From Salon ● Feb. 2, 2026
It also had a habit of irritating and, occasionally, enraging the president so much that he wanted it cancelled.
From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2025
And every year, Luna found it more and more enraging.
From "The Girl Who Drank the Moon" by Kelly Barnhill
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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.
