wroth
Americanadjective
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angry; wrathful (usually used predicatively).
He was wroth to see the damage to his home.
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stormy; violent; turbulent.
the wroth sea.
adjective
Etymology
Origin of wroth
before 900; Middle English; Old English wrāth; cognate with Dutch wreed cruel, Old Norse reithr angry; akin to writhe
Explanation
When you're wroth, you're absolutely furious. If you borrow your sister's bike without asking and bend its wheel running into a parked car, don't be surprised if she's completely wroth. This is an old-fashioned way to say "irate" or "infuriated." Wroth is extremely rare these days, but you may come across it in an old novel. Like its more common cousin, wrath, or "anger," wroth comes from the Old English wrað, "angry, tormented, or twisted."
Vocabulary lists containing wroth
Tolkien Reading Day, List 6
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Oedipus at Colonus
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Cold Cereal
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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.
“Hackers will be watching this sentence to decide whether it’s wroth engaging in this kind of conduct,” Kosto said.
From Seattle Times • Sep. 7, 2023
And then, in their disillusionment, those villagers most wroth against the ogre wailed and rent their garments and covered their heads with ashes.
From Slate • Mar. 25, 2019
Less wroth now, I wonder why the mere mention of the medieval age incites within me the urge to battle.
From New York Times • Jan. 29, 2018
And the High Priestess waxed exceeding wroth and said to the people, Fear not.
From The New Yorker • Jun. 9, 2017
“The king’s prize. His Grace will be most wroth to find her gone.”
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
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.
