adjective
-
full of wrath; raging or furious
-
resulting from or expressing wrath
Other Word Forms
- unwrathful adjective
- unwrathfully adverb
- unwrathfulness noun
- wrathfully adverb
- wrathfulness noun
Etymology
Origin of wrathful
Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; see origin at wrath, -ful
Explanation
If you're wrathful, you're absolutely furious, brimming with anger. Enraged gods of many different religions are often described as wrathful. The wrathful kind of anger is so hardcore that it is often reserved for deities and royalty — a wrathful god might cause a flood, and a wrathful queen might scream, “Off with her head!” You can also use this adjective figuratively for something wild and stormy, like the wrathful lashing of rain on the deck of your sailboat. The Old English root of wrathful means "twisted or tormented."
Vocabulary lists containing wrathful
Mad Infinitum: Synonyms for "Angry"
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!
To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapters 1–11
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!
Angry
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.
A few scenes later, when Aang demands to be released so he can save the Northern Water Tribe, Bumi becomes wrathful.
From Salon • Feb. 28, 2024
When the journey of my life has reached its end, … may the peaceful and wrathful buddhas send out the power of their compassion and clear away the darkness of ignorance.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2023
Though lifting even the tiniest shield causes Owl to fall backward, and he has “a habit of nodding off during the day,” his chivalry will charm even the most wrathful dragons among us.
From New York Times • Jun. 24, 2022
A portrait of Fudo Myo-o, a Buddhist deity, is a product of the artist Myotaku’s devotional act of painting the wrathful figure every day for 20 years.
From Washington Post • Apr. 21, 2022
And she, she knew today that door: a living, wrathful gate.
From "Go Tell It on the Mountain" by James Baldwin
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.
