enrage
Americanverb (used with object)
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enrages,
present (3rd person singular)
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enraged,
past participle, past
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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
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was enragingprogressive
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were enragingprogressive
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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
In Hostilities, players anonymously wrote questions intended to embarrass or enrage other players, the more intimate the better.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 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
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
It enrages her that “some people have more barriers than others, whether it means that you’re working class or poor, or a person of color, or queer, or part of the gender spectrum.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 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
The sight of the pamphlets and fliers enrages the judge.
From "The Boy Who Dared" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
SEOUL—Just over a year ago, the botched launch of the Kang Kon enraged Kim Jong Un.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 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
Year in and year out, in incidents small and noticeably larger, refinery accidents enraged neighbors and attracted regulators.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
Aunty Uju stopped, her eyes bulging and enraged.
From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Such a move would buy time, but also run the risk of enraging Trump at a delicate moment in U.S.-Mexico relations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 30, 2026
There are noteworthy nuggets, as we set out here, and the revelations about his payoff will be, to many, enraging.
From BBC ● Mar. 11, 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
He stood silently for a moment, trying to think of how to say no without further enraging Trademaster.
From "Son" by Lois Lowry
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.
