fury

[fyoor-ee]

noun, plural fu·ries.

unrestrained or violent anger, rage, passion, or the like: The gods unleashed their fury on the offending mortal.
violence; vehemence; fierceness: the fury of a hurricane; a fury of creative energy.
Furies, Classical Mythology. minor female divinities: the daughters of Gaea who punished crimes at the instigation of the victims: known to the Greeks as the Erinyes or Eumenides and to the Romans as the Furiae or Dirae. Originally there were an indefinite number, but were later restricted to Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone.

a fierce and violent person, especially a woman: She became a fury when she felt she was unjustly accused.

Idioms

like fury, Informal. violently; intensely: It rained like fury.

Origin of fury

1325–75; Middle English < Latin furia rage, equivalent to fur(ere) to be angry, rage + -ia -y²

Can be confusedfurore fury

Synonyms for fury

1. ire, wrath. 2. turbulence.

Synonym study

1. See anger.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for furies

madness, rage, frenzy, energy, violence, ire, acrimony, intensity, passion, storm, furor, ferocity, indignation, savagery, severity, power, conniption, fire, rise, acerbity

Examples from the Web for furies

Contemporary Examples of furies

But it turns out The Furies of Maidan is not a figment of his imagination.
Want a Good Look at Putin’s Pervy Propaganda? See ‘The Furies of Maidan’
Cathy Young
April 25, 2014
Like the Furies, the Cheneys stand for unreason and emotionalism.
Cheney Blood Lust
Lee Siegel
October 22, 2009

Historical Examples of furies

Until the furies got hold of him he was a simple soul, content with simple things.
Viviette
William J. Locke
I can think of many parts I should prefer playing to that of the Furies.
Essays, Second Series
Ralph Waldo Emerson
He looked as if he had known all the degradations and all the furies.
The Nigger Of The "Narcissus"
Joseph Conrad
The Fates and the Furies exchanged glances of astonishment and horror.
The Infernal Marriage
Benjamin Disraeli
The furies were so dreaded that few dared so much as to name them.
Roman Antiquities, and Ancient Mythology
Charles K. Dillaway

British Dictionary definitions for furies

Furies

pl n singular Fury

classical myth the snake-haired goddesses of vengeance, usually three in number, who pursued unpunished criminalsAlso called: Erinyes, Eumenides

fury

noun plural -ries

violent or uncontrolled anger; wild rage
an outburst of such anger
uncontrolled violencethe fury of the storm
a person, esp a woman, with a violent temper
See Furies
like fury informal violently; furiouslythey rode like fury

Word Origin for fury

C14: from Latin furia rage, from furere to be furious

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for furies

fury

late 14c., "fierce passion," from Old French furie (14c.), from Latin furia "violent passion, rage, madness," related to furere "to rage, be mad." Romans used Furiæ to translate Greek Erinyes, the collective name for the avenging deities sent from Tartarus to punish criminals (in later accounts three in number and female). Hence, figuratively, "an angry woman" (late 14c.).

furies in Culture

Furies

In classical mythology, hideous female monsters who relentlessly pursued evildoers.

Idioms and Phrases with furies

fury

see hell has no fury like a woman scorned.