ire
noun
intense anger; wrath.
ire
1 American
[ahyuhr]
/ aɪər /
noun
Ire.
2
American
abbreviation
Ire.
1
British
abbreviation
ire
2
British
/ aɪə /
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of ire
1250–1300; Middle English < Old French < Latin īra anger
Explanation
Ire is another word for "anger." So if you routinely steal your neighbor's newspaper, don't be surprised to be on the receiving end of his ire. Ire comes almost directly from the Latin word for anger, ira. While it means pretty much the same thing, ire usually stems from a specific grievance, rather than just general irritation with the world. And if you provoke someone's ire, you're probably going to feel their wrath. Shakespeare used both ire and anger in one famous sentence from his play "Pericles": "Yet cease your ire, you angry stars of heaven!"
Vocabulary lists containing ire
Words inspired by "Inside Out"
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Mad Infinitum: Synonyms for "Angry"
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This Week in Words: December 30, 2017 - January 5, 2018
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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.
But that wasn’t the only reason locals sometimes directed their ire toward health workers.
From Slate • Jun. 9, 2026
The joke, which revolved around a misunderstanding between a Kurdish woman and a doctor, also drew the ire of the pro-Kurdish opposition DEM party which said it had filed a complaint against him.
From Barron's • Jun. 6, 2026
“Another Dimension” is his answer to the years of rejection, pain and incandescent ire, but transmuted into a vibrant, avant-garde, genre-defying gaping wound found within 11 tight tracks.
From Salon • Jun. 5, 2026
Maria O’Donnell, a journalist who drew Milei’s ire after urging him to tone down his rhetoric, said the president often appears to treat criticism as a personal attack.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026
He had done nothing to break his promise, or to draw Nero’s ire in any way.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
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.
