furor

noun

fu·​ror ˈfyu̇r-ˌȯr 

-ər

1

: an angry or maniacal fit : rage

furor of the god of war

—Henry Fuseli

2

: fury sense 4

3

: a fashionable craze : vogue

her singing … made her the furor of Paris overnight

—Janet Flanner

4

a

: furious or hectic activity

confusion and furor within the Pentagon over research and development spending

—T. M. Bernstein

b

: an outburst of public excitement or indignation : uproar

Amid the furor, the senator continues to deny the allegations.

Synonyms

• ado
• alarums and excursions
• ballyhoo
• blather
• bluster
• bobbery
• bother
• bustle
• clatter
• clutter [chiefly dialect]
• coil
• commotion
• corroboree [Australian]
• disturbance
• do [chiefly dialect]
• foofaraw
• fun
• furore
• fuss
• helter-skelter
• hoo-ha
• hoo-hah
• hoopla
• hubble-bubble
• hubbub
• hullabaloo
• hurly
• hurly-burly
• hurricane
• hurry
• hurry-scurry
• hurry-skurry
• kerfuffle [chiefly British]
• moil
• pandemonium
• pother
• row
• ruckus
• ruction
• rumpus
• shindy
• splore [Scottish]
• squall
• stew
• stir
• storm
• to-do
• tumult
• turmoil
• uproar
• welter
• whirl
• williwaw
• zoo

Examples of furor in a Sentence

The book caused a furor across the country.

Amid a public furor, the senator continues to deny the allegations.

Recent Examples on the Web

Only recently in Hong Kong there has been a furor over the case of the man who, riding in his private car, snatched a fountain pen from a passerby. —Eileen Chang, Harpers Magazine, 18 June 2025

The likely outcome from the furor is a near-inevitable reshoring of the pharma supply chain, at least to some degree. —Matt Lowe, Forbes.com, 11 June 2025

For the school system, the immigration furor put a chill on a normally celebratory time — graduation season. —Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, 10 June 2025

Conservative furor grows over future of DOGE cuts 🌮️ IN THE WHITE HOUSE Trump’s tariffs hit a big roadblock: A federal court blocked President Trump’s sweeping tariffs Wednesday evening, arguing Congress never gave the president unilateral authority to impose tariffs on nearly every country. —Cate Martel, The Hill, 29 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle French & Latin; Middle French, from Latin, from furere to rage

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for furor

• furore

Kids Definition

furor

noun

fu·​ror ˈfyu̇r-ˌȯr 

-ˌōr

1

: fury sense 1, rage

2

: an outburst of excitement : uproar