outrage

noun out·rage \ ˈau̇t-ˌrāj \

Updated on: 24 Apr 2018

Definition of outrage

1 : an act of violence or brutality

arranged outrages and assassinations
—Anthony West

2 a : injury, insult

do no outrages on silly women or poor passengers
—William Shakespeare

b : an act that violates accepted standards of behavior or taste

an outrage alike against decency and dignity
—John Buchan

3 : the anger and resentment aroused by injury or insult

Many people expressed outrage at the court's decision.

See outrage defined for English-language learners

See outrage defined for kids

Examples of outrage in a Sentence

Many people expressed outrage at the court's decision.
Public outrage over the scandal was great.
The rule is an outrage against women.
This is an outrage! I won't allow this kind of behavior to continue.

Recent Examples of outrage from the Web

The trend suggests that public outrage over the opioid epidemic and regulatory, legislative, clinical and commercial measures have begun to curb their use by physicians and patients.

— Washington Post, "The Health 202: Alex Azar is surrounding himself with industry insiders," 20 Apr. 2018
Related stories from Sacramento Bee In new walkouts, students look to turn outrage to action The students were helped by Jennifer Hartel of HeadCount, a nonpartisan voter registration organization.

— diana lambert, sacbee, "Sacramento students join National Student Walkout to protest gun violence after Parkland | The Sacramento Bee," 20 Apr. 2018
Sweden’s prime minister, the king and the Nobel board have all expressed their concerns over a scandal that has sparked all around outrage in the Scandinavian nation that is known for its promotion of gender equality.

— BostonGlobe.com, "Sexual misconduct found in organization that awards Nobel Prize in Literature," 20 Apr. 2018
And the way police departments in these cities accessed this user data is reminiscent of practices that inspired outrage over Cambridge Analytica.

— christopher raleigh bousquet, WIRED, "Why Police Should Monitor Social Media to Prevent Crime," 20 Apr. 2018
Landrieu's push for the removals, which was approved by the New Orleans City Council, stirred outrage and legal action from those who wanted the symbols to stay in place.

— katherine sayre, NOLA.com, "Mitch Landrieu, as he leaves mayor's office, not ruling out presidential run," 20 Apr. 2018
Friday, April 13 – Saturday, April 14 National outrage over the viral video begins to mount.

— patricia madej, Philly.com, "Philadelphia Starbucks arrests: What we've learned a week later," 19 Apr. 2018
As much as the chattering classes may marvel at the ever-increasing evidence of the president’s corruption, outrage doesn’t earn the outraged any extra votes.

— ed kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, "White Working-Class Voters May Not Care About Trump Scandals," 19 Apr. 2018
The trend suggests that public outrage over the opioid epidemic and regulatory, legislative, clinical and commercial measures have begun to curb their use by physicians and patients.

— the washington post, AL.com, "Opioid prescriptions fell 10 percent in 2017, biggest drop in 25 years," 19 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'outrage.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of outrage

Middle English, from Anglo-French utrage, outrage insult, excess, from outre, utre beyond, from Latin ultra — more at ultra-

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

outrage Synonyms

Phrases

slow burn;

outrage

verb

Definition of outrage

outraged; outraging

transitive verb

1 a : rape

b : to violate the standards or principles of

he has outraged respectability past endurance
—John Braine

2 : to arouse anger or resentment in usually by some grave offense

was outraged by the accusation

See outrage defined for English-language learners

Examples of outrage in a Sentence

His comments outraged nearly everyone in the room.
the spiteful comment outraged her so much that she's still holding a grudge

Recent Examples of outrage from the Web

And neighborhood residents, outraged at the murder, called on police to do something.

— michael kiefer, azcentral, "Why downtown Phoenix's problem with transients defies easy answers," 7 Apr. 2018
Israel was particularly outraged that Hollywood had named a street after Forrest, who was also the first grand wizard of the KKK.

— susannah bryan, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Hollywood's Confederate street signs finally coming down," 3 Apr. 2018
As expected, the students were outraged and led a protest on Thursday (Mar. 29).

— rania aniftos, Billboard, "Rihanna's 'Bitch Better Have My Money' Becomes Protest Anthem For Howard University Students," 29 Mar. 2018
The return of the girls might wind up as a major propaganda coup for Boko Haram as villagers had been outraged at the way Nigerian officials had handled the girls’ capture, and some questioned why the military did not launch a rescue operation.

— emmanuel akinwotu, New York Times, "Boko Haram Returns Dozens of Schoolgirls Kidnapped in Nigeria," 21 Mar. 2018
Anyway, the arson was perpetrated by a radical suffragette named Kitty Marion, who was outraged at having been brutally force-fed 242 times (!) while on hunger strike in custody.

— charles p. pierce, Esquire, "Drill, Baby, Drill—in 2028?," 9 Mar. 2018
That trip turned into a political debacle for Peña Nieto; Mexicans were outraged that their leader would invite a candidate who had expressed such vitriol toward Mexicans on the campaign trail.

— joshua partlow, chicagotribune.com, "Kushner meets with top officials in Mexico amid strained relations," 7 Mar. 2018
At its best, Seven Seconds is suffused with empathy for the lives of black Americans, and outraged at a legal system that fails, at literally every level, to protect them.

— scott meslow, GQ, "Netflix’s Seven Seconds Is a Timely, Flawed Drama About American Injustice," 25 Feb. 2018
Images of marchers being beaten and gassed on that Bloody Sunday outraged much of the nation and put pressure on President Lyndon Johnson to send federal troops to protect the protesters and get the Voting Rights Act passed.

— sandiegouniontribune.com, "Selma March Begins," 22 Mar. 2018

Origin and Etymology of outrage

see ¹outrage

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1590

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

outrage Synonyms

Synonyms

anger, enrage, incense, inflame (also enflame), infuriate, ire, madden, rankle, rile, roil, steam up, tick off;

Antonyms

delight, gratify, please;

Near Antonyms

allay, assuage, relieve;

comfort, console, soothe;

appease, conciliate, mollify, pacify, placate;

calm, lull, quiet, settle;

beguile, bewitch, captivate, charm, disarm, enchant;

antagonize, embitter, envenom;

Phrases

get one's goat, rub the wrong way;

Synonym Discussion of outrage

offend, outrage, affront, insult mean to cause hurt feelings or deep resentment. offend need not imply an intentional hurting but it may indicate merely a violation of the victim's sense of what is proper or fitting.

- hoped that my remarks had not offended her

outrage implies offending beyond endurance and calling forth extreme feelings.

- outraged by their accusations

affront implies treating with deliberate rudeness or contemptuous indifference to courtesy.

- deeply affronted by his callousness

insult suggests deliberately causing humiliation, hurt pride, or shame.

- insulted every guest at the party

OUTRAGE Defined for English Language Learners

outrage

noun

Definition of outrage for English Language Learners

: extreme anger : a strong feeling of unhappiness because of something bad, hurtful, or morally wrong
: something that hurts people or is morally wrong

outrage

verb

Definition of outrage for English Language Learners

: to make (someone) very angry

OUTRAGE Defined for Kids

outrage

noun out·rage \ ˈau̇t-ˌrāj \

Definition of outrage for Students

1 : angry feelings caused by a hurtful, unjust, or insulting act

2 : an act that is hurtful or unjust or shows disrespect for a person's feelings

outrage

verb

Definition of outrage for Students

outraged; outraging

1 : to cause to feel anger or strong resentment

We were outraged by the way we were treated.

2 : to cause to suffer great insult Her words outraged his dignity.

Law Dictionary

outrage

noun out·rage \ ˈau̇t-ˌrāj \

legal Definition of outrage

1 : a deeply offensive or violent act

2 : the tort of intentionally inflicting emotional distress

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outrage

Definition of outrage

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outrage

Definition of outrage

Examples of outrage in a Sentence

Recent Examples of outrage from the Web

Origin and Etymology of outrage

outrage Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

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Related Words

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Synonym Discussion of outrage

OUTRAGE Defined for English Language Learners

outrage

Definition of outrage for English Language Learners

outrage

Definition of outrage for English Language Learners

OUTRAGE Defined for Kids

outrage

Definition of outrage for Students

outrage

Definition of outrage for Students

Law Dictionary

outrage

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