enrage
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Related Words
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
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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The Sound and the Fury: Synonyms for "Anger"
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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.
It’s the Epstein files that really enrage Kasamis.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 6, 2026
Keeping him could further enrage opponents and even members of his own party in Parliament, known as the Rada.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 28, 2025
In exchange for helping to nail Leasure, France got immunity from the D.A.’s office — a deal that would forever enrage detectives on the case.
From Los Angeles Times • May 15, 2024
Whatever they decide, their opinion will be sorely tested as the trial proceeds through jury selection, evidentiary rulings and closing arguments sure to enrage an already incendiary defendant with no impulse control.
From Salon • Nov. 30, 2023
In fact, a bologna sandwich might enrage her.
From "Louisiana's Way Home" by Kate DiCamillo
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.
