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

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

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

But that high dudgeon, he notes, is “as good a proof as any that it’s not just a puzzle.”

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 24, 2025

So why has the most recent adaptation — Carrie Cracknell’s spicy version of “Persuasion,” now streaming on Netflix — sent so many viewers to their fainting couches, heaving in high dudgeon?

From New York Times • Jul. 20, 2022

When I asked Lewis about this on a 2019 panel at the University of North Carolina campus in Chapel Hill, he worked himself into a moral dudgeon over being accused of a racial gerrymander.

From Salon • Aug. 29, 2021

Only an exceedingly fortunate, patient, and sweet-tempered person can go through life without ever feeling in high dudgeon, and that was just as true in Miss Penelope Lumley’s day as it is in our own.

From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood