outrage

1 of 2

noun

out·​rage ˈau̇t-ˌrāj 

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.

outrage

2 of 2

verb

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

Synonyms

Noun

• insult
• offence
• sarcasm
• indignity

Verb

• insult
• offend

Choose the Right Synonym for 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

Examples of outrage in a Sentence

Noun

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.

Verb

His comments outraged nearly everyone in the room.

the spiteful comment outraged her so much that she's still holding a grudge

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

After a two-year spike during the pandemic and national outrage over police accountability, Chicago began to see a decline in homicides in 2022. —Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 14 July 2025

Punishing criminals is an outrage among the progressive set, who work diligently to reframe a prison sentence as little more than a change of address. —Boston Herald Editorial Staff, Boston Herald, 13 July 2025

Verb

The release also outraged some supporters of the president, who had been promised that more details would be made public. —ABC News, 14 July 2025

What further outraged Roberts and another Cook accuser, however, is what did not appear in the report: that the mayor, who was married and more than 30 years older than each woman at the time, sent them late-night and personal texts alluding to poetry. —Jordan Smith, IndyStar, 4 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

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

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1590, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for outrage

• assuage
• backstage
• bocage
• downstage
• engage
• enrage
• leafage
• messuage
• offstage
• onstage
• pelage
• prophage

Kids Definition

outrage

1 of 2 noun

out·​rage ˈau̇t-ˌrāj 

1

: a violent or brutal act

2

: an act that hurts someone or shows disrespect for a person's feelings

3

: the angry feelings caused by injury or insult

outrage

2 of 2 verb

outraged; outraging

1

: to cause to suffer violent injury or abuse

2

: to cause to feel anger or resentment

Etymology

Noun

from early French outrage "an act of violence or brutality" from outre "beyond" (from Latin ultra "beyond") and -age "action"

Legal Definition

outrage

noun

out·​rage ˈau̇t-ˌrāj 

1

: a deeply offensive or violent act

2

: the tort of intentionally inflicting emotional distress