rage
Americannoun
-
rages
plural
-
angry fury; violent anger (sometimes used in combination).
a speech full of rage;
incidents of road rage.
- Antonyms:
- calm
-
a fit of violent anger.
Her rages usually don't last too long.
-
fury or violence of wind, waves, fire, disease, etc.
- Synonyms:
- turbulence
-
violence of feeling, desire, or appetite.
the rage of thirst.
-
a violent desire or passion.
-
ardor; fervor; enthusiasm.
poetic rage.
-
the object of widespread enthusiasm, as for being popular or fashionable.
Raccoon coats were the rage on campus.
-
Archaic. insanity.
verb (used without object)
-
rages,
present (3rd person singular)
-
raged,
past participle, past
-
raging
present participle
-
to act or speak with fury; show or feel violent anger; fulminate.
-
to move, rush, dash, or surge furiously.
-
to proceed, continue, or prevail with great violence.
The battle raged ten days.
-
(of feelings, opinions, etc.) to hold sway with unabated violence.
idioms
noun
-
intense anger; fury
-
violent movement or action, esp of the sea, wind, etc
-
great intensity of hunger, sexual desire, or other feelings
-
aggressive behaviour associated with a specified environment or activity
road rage
school rage
-
a fashion or craze (esp in the phrase all the rage )
-
informal a dance or party
verb
-
to feel or exhibit intense anger
-
(esp of storms, fires, etc) to move or surge with great violence
-
(esp of a disease or epidemic) to spread rapidly and uncontrollably
-
informal to have a good time
Synonym Usage
See anger.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
ragesimple
-
ragessimple
-
have ragedperfect
-
has ragedperfect
-
am ragingprogressive
-
are ragingprogressive
-
is ragingprogressive
-
have been ragingperfect progressive
-
has been ragingperfect progressive
Past
-
ragedsimple
-
had ragedperfect
-
was ragingprogressive
-
were ragingprogressive
-
had been ragingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of rage
First recorded in 1250–1300; (for the noun) Middle English, from Old French, from Late Latin rabia, Latin rabiēs “madness” ( see rabies ( def. )), derivative of rabere “to be mad, rave”; verb derivative of the noun
Explanation
Rage is a really intense anger. Some frustrated drivers let their emotions boil over into road rage when another car cuts them off, for example. If you're full of rage, you're full of anger — powerful, extreme, sometimes even violent anger. Rage can also be a verb: you might rage against something you hate or as the poet Dylan Thomas pleaded, "Rage, rage against the dying of the light." Things that rage are out of control, like a raging, roaring fire or a wild storm. Another meaning involves the latest, greatest trend — you'd say it's "all the rage."
Vocabulary lists containing rage
Emotions on Display
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Christmas Carol Vocab: A Lyrical Lexicon
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Instead of "Said": Vexed Verbiage to Express Anger
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
In recent Wall Street marketing and outlook materials, stock picking is still all the rage.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
Firefighters across Europe have been facing intense pressure and a strain on resources as serious wildfires continue to rage across the continent, fuelled by extreme heatwaves.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
While a link between the lateral septum and another region called the hypothalamus is probably responsible for septal rage, the lateral septum links with many other regions with various functions.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 12, 2026
Talking about the “Pluribus” season finale, she said that while she’s never murdered anyone, she has felt out-of-control rage.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
My anger ran hot and cold—cold from wanting to freeze him out, but mostly hot with humiliation, rage, and frustration.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
We only know them through the prism of men: Jane lusts after Yoga Dude, Coco rages at Roger, Sophie is bullied by her boss.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
As the debate rages, in Las Vegas a purpose-built arena is ready to welcome more than 2,000 invited guests to an event that will be streamed live to those curious enough to watch.
From BBC ● May 20, 2026
“Each day the war rages, we see a reckoning slowly approaching.”
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 24, 2026
Grabow believes the measure will bolster US supply chains, but warned that effects on prices could be limited if the war rages on.
From Barron's ● Mar. 18, 2026
He’s come up from below, racing toward the captain, oblivious to the battle that rages around him.
From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman
In some ways, the situation is reminiscent of an argument that raged in the 1950s over “who lost China.”
From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2026
Wildfires have raged across Europe over the two weeks, primarily in France and Spain, where more than 330,000 people were evacuated.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
Papin and the children were now stuck in Biscarrosse, just as one of the worst fires in recent French history raged near them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
Over the past six days, the largest French wildfire since 1949 has raged west of Bordeaux, forcing more than 220,000 people to flee and destroying 240 houses.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
Razi and his sister huddled close together, pressing into the overhang as much as they could, sometimes clinging on as the wind raged and slashed at them.
From "The Boy Who Met a Whale" by Nizrana Farook
Never mind that this salt-and-pepper-haired coach with the Portuguese accent had also constructed a reputation as a sore loser, a bitter complainer, and raging egomaniac.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
“Raging against the second half of your life, raging against how the world’s perceiving you, and how the world looks at you at a certain age.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
But there are at least 14 other fires raging throughout the state.
From Salon ● Aug. 3, 2026
In Greece, hundreds of people - mostly tourists - have been evacuated by sea from a coastal town of Viotia hemmed in by one of the many wildfires raging across the country.
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
Behind me, I hear a roar like a windstorm racing, raging.
From "Black Brother, Black Brother" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
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.
