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
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Christmas Carol Vocab: A Lyrical Lexicon
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Instead of "Said": Vexed Verbiage to Express Anger
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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.
See Examples For:
“I just think that the feelings and the passion and the rage and the sense of urgency is still there.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
People with names like the other six accused also complained about rage spamming and threats.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
"We could have very easily been consumed by hate and anger and rage at what happened – and those feelings are still there," said Katie.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
You root for the right people in “Unabomber,” even if the heroine is fictional and the talented Mr. Tremblay makes youthful frustration and rage a bit too sympathetic.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
I could rage and complain and spread my bad mood over the whole world.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
The characters in her books doggedly seek the joys of love and art while the apocalypse rages in the background.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
Feelings bubbled up uncontrollably: inconsolable howls in infancy, classroom meltdowns in childhood, rages in adolescence.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
The debate about social media and child safety rages on, as Meta faces a slew of similar lawsuits similar to this one.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026
Think about it this way: As the data center buildout rages, investors have lost interest in the many non-data center stocks.
From Barron's ● Jun. 2, 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
A lawsuit between merchants and card companies raged for more than 20 years until it reached a settlement last year that is already set to make some changes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
As the fire raged, mother and son used garden hoses to defend their property as nearby dwellings were torched.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026
In some ways, the situation is reminiscent of an argument that raged in the 1950s over “who lost China.”
From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2026
Dozens of people were evacuated as the fire raged but, of the 96 houses that were evacuated, 85 families were able to return, Dudley Council said.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
Thus I raged, but inwardly I hoped that Hamlet meant his words of love, and I wished that I had heard him speak them.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
Air pollution in part of Singapore hit the country's "very high" band on Wednesday, while East Timor shut schools, as haze from forest fires raging in Indonesia causes a regional crisis.
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026
A video of the flood shows the moment raging waters sweep down a valley and wash away an entire building complex.
From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026
Huang’s comments come as a debate over AI safety has been raging across Silicon Valley over the past month.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
It appears almost lifeless, with the ash transformed into raging mudflows called lahars in every storm.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026
To the east is gold-haired Achilles, his armor shining like the sun, his face a mask of raging battle madness.
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
