rage

[reyj]

noun

1. angry fury; violent anger (sometimes used in combination).

   a speech full of rage;

   incidents of road rage.

   Synonyms: madness, ire, passion, frenzy, wrath
   Antonyms: calm

2. a fit of violent anger.

   Her rages usually don't last too long.

3. fury or violence of wind, waves, fire, disease, etc.

   Synonyms: turbulence

4. violence of feeling, desire, or appetite.

   the rage of thirst.

5. a violent desire or passion.

6. ardor; fervor; enthusiasm.

   poetic rage.

   Synonyms: vehemence, eagerness

7. the object of widespread enthusiasm, as for being popular or fashionable.

   Raccoon coats were the rage on campus.

   Synonyms: craze, fashion, fad, vogue

8. Archaic.,  insanity.

verb (used without object)

raged, raging 

1. to act or speak with fury; show or feel violent anger; fulminate.

   Synonyms: storm, fume, rave

2. to move, rush, dash, or surge furiously.

   Synonyms: storm, fume, rave

3. to proceed, continue, or prevail with great violence.

   The battle raged ten days.

4. (of feelings, opinions, etc.) to hold sway with unabated violence.

rage

/ reɪdʒ /

noun

1. intense anger; fury

2. violent movement or action, esp of the sea, wind, etc

3. great intensity of hunger, sexual desire, or other feelings

4. aggressive behaviour associated with a specified environment or activity

   road rage

   school rage

5. a fashion or craze (esp in the phrase all the rage )

6. informal,  a dance or party

verb

1. to feel or exhibit intense anger

2. (esp of storms, fires, etc) to move or surge with great violence

3. (esp of a disease or epidemic) to spread rapidly and uncontrollably

4. informal,  to have a good time

Other Word Forms

• rageful adjective
• ragingly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of rage¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; (for the noun) Middle English, from Old French, from Late Latin rabia, Latin rabiēs “madness” ( rabies ( def. ) ), derivative of rabere “to be mad, rave”; verb derivative of the noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of rage¹

C13: via Old French from Latin rabiēs madness

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. all the rage, widely popular or in style.

see all the rage.

Synonym Study

See anger.

Example Sentences

As firefighters waged a high-stakes battle against a raging inferno in Pacific Palisades last January, crews desperate for water ran into a series of problems, some that are still coming to light.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

There may be a peace dividend for asset markets after the historic agreement struck between Israel and the extremist group Hamas bringing an apparent end to a conflict that has raged for two years.

Read more on MarketWatch

At the so-called Hostage Square in Tel Aviv on Thursday, Israelis demonstrated some of that rage.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

And then, with all the shock and rage of a lightning bolt, it happened.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

“They are euphoric,” he writes in “Hostage,” a book of startling eloquence, unimaginable anguish and exceptionally restrained rage.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• animosity 
• bitterness 
• exasperation 
• excitement 
• frenzy 
• furor 
• fury 
• indignation 
• irritation 
• madness 
• mania 
• obsession 
• outburst 
• passion 
• resentment 
• temper 
• violence