adjective
-
full of wrath; raging or furious
-
resulting from or expressing wrath
Other Word Forms
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"
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To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapters 1–11
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Angry
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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.
Wrathful lacemakers' representatives demanded revenge duties of 200% on U. S. automobiles and parts, prohibitive duties on other articles.
From Time Magazine Archive
Wrathful indeed was Statesman Stimson at the Post.
From Time Magazine Archive
Wrathful shippers took their business to businesslike harbors.
From Time Magazine Archive
Thou'rt a dove, all milk of kindness; Yet at times too thou canst be Wrathful as a tiger, or a Lioness of Barbary.
From The Exemplary Novels of Cervantes by Cervantes Saavedra, Miguel de
Whilst their grievance each is venting In the underworld below, Ceres, on the earth lamenting, Wrathful wanders to and fro.
From Poems and Ballads of Heinrich Heine by Heine, Heinrich
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.
