seething
Britishadjective
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boiling or foaming as if boiling
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crowded and full of restless activity
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in a state of extreme agitation, esp through anger
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Explanation
Seething describes anger you can barely contain. If you are seething and something sets you off, you just might explode into a rage. Someone who's seething with anger is furious but keeping it a secret. Maybe someone insulted you in front of others and you want to let it go — on the inside, though, you might be seething. Or during the big game, an opponent's harsh words can have you seething, but you want to stay focused on scoring points. Seething sometimes describes something that's boiling over, like a seething pot of soup, and this is also the root of the word.
Vocabulary lists containing seething
A Midsummer Night's Dream
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Beowulf vocabulary
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Stargirl
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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.
Meanwhile, Salieri’s invisible seething paralyzes him, turning into the punishment he believes God inflicted on him.
From Salon • May 16, 2026
The war in Iran is a seething stalemate, the price of oil is up about 60% this year, inflation jumped to 3.3% in March—and still U.S. stocks set all-time highs this week.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026
It’s a truly stunning expression of his rage and betrayal — a seething accusation — told entirely through bodies and gesture.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026
In 1991 Will Self disgorged himself on to the British literary scene with “The Quantity Theory of Insanity,” a book of short stories seething with misanthropy and logorrhea.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026
“If anything had gone wrong,” said Hassan, seething.
From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri
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.
