anger
Americannoun
-
anger
plural
-
a strong feeling of displeasure and belligerence aroused by a wrong; wrath; ire.
- Synonyms:
- spleen, bile, choler, exasperation, resentment
-
Chiefly British Dialect. pain or smart, as of a sore.
-
Obsolete. grief; trouble.
verb (used with object)
-
angers,
present (3rd person singular)
-
angered,
past participle, past
-
angering
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
angers,
present (3rd person singular)
-
angered,
past participle, past
-
angering
present participle
noun
verb
Usage
What does anger mean? Anger is a human emotion that involves intense displeasure and aggression as a response to an aggravating event, as in My mother was filled with anger after she found out that I had snuck out to the party. The word anger is also used to mean to make someone feel anger or to begin to feel anger oneself, as in That grouchy old man next door angers easily. Anger also refers to making someone else feel anger, as in The disrespect shown by the new recruit angered the drill instructor. Anger is a strong human emotion, and you’ve likely experienced anger in your own life. If you have ever felt your heart pumping strongly and wanted to scream or punch a wall, you’ve felt anger. You might feel anger when someone insults you, takes something from you, hurts one of your loved ones, or does something that you really don’t like. Feeling anger is completely normal, although how you respond to anger can make a big difference. Angry is used to describe feeling anger, as in I try to avoid angry dogs. Example: The silly jester was an expert at calming the king’s anger.
Synonym Usage
Anger, fury, indignation, rage imply deep and strong feelings aroused by injury, injustice, wrong, etc. Anger is the general term for a sudden violent displeasure: a burst of anger. Indignation implies deep and justified anger: indignation at cruelty or against corruption. Rage is vehement anger: rage at being frustrated. Fury is rage so great that it resembles insanity: the fury of an outraged lover.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
angersimple
-
angerssimple
-
have angeredperfect
-
has angeredperfect
-
am angeringprogressive
-
are angeringprogressive
-
is angeringprogressive
-
have been angeringperfect progressive
-
has been angeringperfect progressive
Past
-
angeredsimple
-
had angeredperfect
-
was angeringprogressive
-
were angeringprogressive
-
had been angeringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of anger
First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English, from Scandinavian; compare Old Norse angr “sorrow, grief,” akin to Old High German angust ( German Angst “fear”), Latin angor “anguish”
Explanation
If you’re mad about something and you’re not going to take it anymore, you’re feeling anger, a strong emotion you experience when you think someone has done you wrong. If you want to scream and kick, you’re feeling anger. Anger is a powerful emotion that people feel from time to time when someone or something frustrates or annoys them. One of the roots of anger is the Greek word ankhone for "a strangling," which is a perfect description of the way anger actually feels. Indeed, anger can make you feel like strangling someone. Don’t do it! If you’re feeling a lot of anger, it’s good to take a nice, deep breath.
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:
Irma’s new friends and newfound anger will slowly affect Pella’s decisions about her future.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Trying to stifle anger over this may be the single most common topic in Christian marital advice content.
From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2026
I realized that replying to complicated requests or problems in anger or haste was never smart, so I kept his rule to slow my response time down eight hours for future correspondence.
From Slate ● Sep. 27, 2026
Current and former FBI agents have spoken to BBC News of their shock, fear and anger following a hack that appears to have exposed the private and personal information of the agency's entire workforce.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
Danny felt his face turn bright red with anger as he dusted his hands and stood back up.
From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova
The wrinkle that angers buyers is that by event time, comparable replacement tickets on StubHub can cost significantly more than the customer originally paid.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
Perhaps what angers him most is that officers may never know the scale of what went on at Save A Paw.
From BBC ● Feb. 20, 2026
Her response, “What’s our lesson here?,” angers him, and he tries to snatch her phone.
From Slate ● Jan. 23, 2026
That’s what angers Frey the most about the release of “Critical Incident.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 9, 2026
I snap, because even though Haymitch is my mentor and trying to keep me alive, this angers me.
From "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins
The movement in the lycees, attended by students aged 15 to 18 for their final three years of secondary education in France, has angered the government.
From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026
Cheney aide Eric Edelman reveals that Sen. Orrin Hatch angered Mr. Bush’s national-security team by sharing classified information on CNN that the intelligence community was monitoring al Qaeda’s communications.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
That doesn’t mean you can’t be totally angered by them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026
Rockstar's parent company, Take-Two, angered fans earlier this year when it decided not to make any physical copies available.
From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026
In a matter of seconds, it seemed, I had gone from being angered by her strength, to being amazed by her innocence, and then frightened by her vulnerability.
From "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan
But angering the president in Turkey is not funny.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
France’s Dassault wanted to lead the partnership, angering other companies such as Airbus that have a big presence in Germany.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
But Schnur said the governor likely also has concerns about angering one of his biggest backers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 21, 2026
Every time the narrative comes close to truly condemning children’s access to devices, the movie pulls back in fear of isolating or angering the audience.
From Salon ● Jun. 21, 2026
And this anxiety to keep his father from angering her was wearisome to him and it was another thing to make of his love a burden to him.
From "The Good Earth" by Pearl S. Buck
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.
