dudgeon

¹ American  

[duhj-uhn] / ˈdʌdʒ ən /

noun

1. a feeling of offense or resentment; anger.

   He had every right to express his dudgeon.

   Synonyms:

   pic, indignation

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idioms

1. in high dudgeon, in a state of great resentment or anger.

   He stood up and left the room in high dudgeon.

dudgeon ² American  

[duhj-uhn] / ˈdʌdʒ ən /

noun

Obsolete.

1. a kind of wood used especially for the handles of knives, daggers, etc.

2. a handle or hilt made of this wood.

3. a dagger having such a hilt.

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dudgeon ¹ British  

/ ˈdʌdʒən /

noun

1. obsolete a wood used in making the handles of knives, daggers, etc

2. archaic a dagger, knife, etc, with a dudgeon hilt

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dudgeon ² British  

/ ˈdʌdʒən /

noun

1. anger or resentment (archaic, except in the phrase in high dudgeon )

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dudgeon More Idioms  

1. see in high dudgeon.

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Etymology

Origin of dudgeon¹

First recorded in 1565–75; origin uncertain

Origin of dudgeon²

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English; related to Anglo-French digeon, digeoun, dogeon; origin uncertain

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Explanation

When you're profoundly upset and indignant about something, you're in high dudgeon. If a manager says something offensive to his employees, he risks having them all quit in high dudgeon. Dudgeon is a noun that means "intense resentment," although these days it's usually preceded by "in high." So your little cousin who's stomping out of the room in fury because he didn't get candy before dinner? He's in high dudgeon. And your substitute teacher who's sputtering furiously after learning everyone gave her a fake name? She's also in high dudgeon. A dudgeon was once also a kind of wooden-handled knife, although the roots for each meaning are apparently unrelated.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dudgeon

European leaders issued a joint statement External link in high dudgeon on Tuesday, insisting that “Greenland belongs to its people.”

From Barron's ● Jan. 8, 2026

It's not just the financial press in high dudgeon over his policies.

From Salon ● Apr. 7, 2025

“It wasn’t Donna Reed, I can tell you that,” he said, alluding, in high geezer dudgeon, to Donna Stone, the suburban homemaker Reed played from 1958 to 1966 on “The Donna Reed Show”

From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2020

Canada isn’t the first country to face this kind of diplomatic dudgeon from the Saudis.

From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2018

For it is a rare, brave soul who will stand up to a figure of authority in high dudgeon, a fact that Penelope now hoped to take advantage of.

From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood

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