seethe

[seeth]

verb (used without object), seethed or (Obsolete) sod; seethed or (Obsolete) sod·den or sod; seeth·ing.

to surge or foam as if boiling.
to be in a state of agitation or excitement.
Archaic. to boil.

verb (used with object), seethed or (Obsolete) sod; seethed or (Obsolete) sod·den or sod; seeth·ing.

to soak or steep.
to cook by boiling or simmering; boil.

noun

the act of seething.
the state of being agitated or excited.

Origin of seethe

before 900; Middle English; Old English sēothan; cognate with German sieden, Swedish sjuda

Related formsseeth·ing·ly, adverbun·seethed, adjectiveun·seeth·ing, adjective

Synonym study

2. See boil¹.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for seethed

fume, smolder, simmer, bristle, flare, boil, foam, froth, rage, burn, flip, stew, storm, ferment, spark

Examples from the Web for seethed

Contemporary Examples of seethed

They seethed at the way Obama had submitted to Republican demands that budget balancing take precedence over job creation.
How Ted Cruz Can Win in 2016
David Frum
October 25, 2013
"He barges in, uninvited, and writes fiction," Specter seethed.
Beware of Snarlin' Arlen
Lloyd Grove
May 7, 2009

Historical Examples of seethed

I seethed, beginning to feel my anger grow as my fear dwindled.
Card Trick
Walter Bupp AKA Randall Garrett
Turning to the East, we find signs that Norwich seethed with discontent.
William Pitt and the Great War
John Holland Rose
Lily seethed with rage against her husband, that footy rotter!
The Bill-Toppers
Andre Castaigne
He seethed with fury at the small, ugly-mouthed woman who had nothing to do with him.
The Rainbow
D. H. (David Herbert) Lawrence
Ideas, possibilities which he could not yet grasp, seethed in his brain.
In the Morning of Time
Charles G. D. Roberts

British Dictionary definitions for seethed

seethe

verb

(intr) to boil or to foam as if boiling
(intr) to be in a state of extreme agitation, esp through anger
(tr) to soak in liquid
(tr) archaic to cook or extract the essence of (a food) by boiling

noun

the act or state of seething

Word Origin for seethe

Old English sēothan; related to Old Norse sjōtha, Old High German siodan to seethe

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for seethed

seethe

Old English seoþan "to boil," also figuratively, "be troubled in mind, brood" (class II strong verb; past tense seaþ, past participle soden), from Proto-Germanic *seuthan (cf. Old Norse sjoða, Old Frisian siatha, Dutch zieden, Old High German siodan, German sieden "to seethe"), from PIE root *seut- "to seethe, boil."

Driven out of its literal meaning by boil (v.); it survives largely in metaphoric extensions. Figurative use, of persons or populations, "to be in a state of inward agitation" is recorded from 1580s (implied in seething). It had wider figurative uses in Old English, e.g. "to try by fire, to afflict with cares." Now conjugated as a weak verb, and past participle sodden (q.v.) is no longer felt as connected.