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

• commotion
• stir
• disturbance
• fuss
• turmoil
• hurry

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

Grijalva’s swearing-in has sparked a partisan furor on Capitol Hill, as Johnson equivocates on the timeline ahead and Democrats accuse him of delaying the ceremony for political reasons. —Laura Gersony, AZCentral.com, 10 Oct. 2025

In response to the furor from content creators over the unauthorized use of their works, OpenAI’s Sam Altman walked back the company’s initial approach of having IP owners opt out of having their stuff fed into the model. —Dominic Patten, Deadline, 9 Oct. 2025

The furor has cooled since that peak intensity, but Ansel still sells the delicacies from his lower-Manhattan shop. —Merrill Fabry, Time, 9 Oct. 2025

There are several other ongoing furors about the president’s propensity to use his power in unusually personal ways. —Niall Stanage, The Hill, 5 Oct. 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