outrage
Americannoun
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an act of wanton cruelty or violence; any gross violation of law or decency.
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anything that strongly offends, insults, or affronts the feelings.
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a powerful feeling of resentment or anger aroused by something perceived as an injury, insult, or injustice.
Outrage seized the entire nation at the news of the attempted assassination.
verb (used with object)
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to subject to grievous violence or indignity.
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to anger or offend; make resentful; shock.
I am outraged by his whole attitude.
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to offend against (right, decency, feelings, etc.) grossly or shamelessly.
Such conduct outrages our normal sense of decency.
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to rape.
- Synonyms:
- violate
noun
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a wantonly vicious or cruel act
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a gross violation of decency, morality, honour, etc
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profound indignation, anger, or hurt, caused by such an act
verb
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to cause profound indignation, anger, or resentment in
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to offend grossly (feelings, decency, human dignity, etc)
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to commit an act of wanton viciousness, cruelty, or indecency on
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a euphemistic word for rape 1
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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outragesimple
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outragessimple
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have outragedperfect
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has outragedperfect
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are outragingprogressive
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am outragingprogressive
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is outragingprogressive
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have been outragingperfect progressive
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has been outragingperfect progressive
Past
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outragedsimple
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had outragedperfect
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was outragingprogressive
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were outragingprogressive
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had been outragingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of outrage
1250–1300; Middle English < Old French outrage, ultrage, equivalent to outr ( er ) to push beyond bounds (derivative of outre beyond < Latin ultrā ) + -age -age
Explanation
If you consider how people are treated in airports an outrage, you get really angry over airport security or the price of airport food. Six dollars for a piece of pizza? What an outrage! Something is an outrage when it is shocking and makes you angry. Stealing from an orphanage? That's an outrage. Sometimes outrage leads to action. Public outrage over the latest political scandal often makes the news.
Vocabulary lists containing outrage
NAEP Test Words
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100 SAT words Beginning with "O"
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Unit 2: Pivotal Words and Phrases
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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.
The failure of the hugely competitive exam, along with a separate marking fiasco in high school tests, sparked outrage and fuelled youth protests demanding the education minister's resignation.
From Barron's • Jun. 16, 2026
President Lee Jae Myung had expressed outrage "by this inhumane and disgraceful conduct" on X amid the backlash.
From Barron's • Jun. 15, 2026
Amid the cacophony of criticism and outrage from across the political spectrum, Israel's prime minister himself has so far been absent.
From BBC • Jun. 15, 2026
He was so sure of it that he walked away from an agreement to coach Leicester City, which only fueled his outrage.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 12, 2026
Ann marched home, still trembling, but now her outrage was mixed with fear and uncertainty.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
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.
