out·rage | \ ˈau̇t-ˌrāj 
\
\Definition of outrage
(Entry 1 of 2)
1 : an act of violence or brutality
arranged outrages and assassinations— Anthony West
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
verboutraged; outraging
Definition of outrage (Entry 2 of 2)
1a : 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
Keep scrolling for more
Synonyms for outrage
Synonyms: Noun
- affront,
- barb,
- brickbat,
- cut,
- dart,
- dig,
- dis
- (also diss)
- [slang],
- epithet,
- gird,
- indignity,
- insult,
- name,
- offense
- (or offence),
- personality,
- poke,
- put-down,
- sarcasm,
- slap,
- slight,
- slur
Synonyms: Verb
Visit the Thesaurus for More
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
See More
Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Ontario’s finance minister resigned Thursday after provoking outrage for taking a holiday in the Caribbean earlier this month in defiance of his own government’s pandemic safety guidelines.
—
Bradford Betz, Fox News, "Ontario's finance minister resigns after taking Caribbean holiday amid pandemic," 1 Jan. 2021 At least one posted about it on Twitter, prompting hundreds of responses of outrage and panic.
—
Hugo Martín, Los Angeles Times, "Coughing, sneezing, vomiting: Visibly ill people aren’t being kept off planes," 1 Jan. 2021 In many cases, their deaths did not draw the same level of attention or outrage as other killings.
—
Neil Vigdor, New York Times, "Samuel Little, Serial Killer Who Confessed to 93 Murders, Dies at 80," 31 Dec. 2020 In the present day, such tragedies have become, justifiably so, fodder for intense social media outrage.
—
Jeffrey Blehar, Washington Examiner, "The broken power broker," 31 Dec. 2020 Instead, these platforms have largely eschewed their editorial duties, promoting outrage to boost engagement and ad revenues.
—
Jeff Bewkes, Fortune, "Now is not the time to repeal Section 230, but it should be soon," 30 Dec. 2020 The reaction of the general public alternated between laughter and outrage: How could a banana and a few inches of tape be worth $120,000?
—
Washington Post, "An independent curator tries to make sense of contemporary art," 29 Dec. 2020 The president, who demanded that Section 230 be repealed, has expressed particular outrage over social media companies flagging his baseless claims that the election was stolen from him.
—
Tom Benning, Dallas News, "11 Texas Republicans in House vote to help override Trump’s veto of defense bill, setting up first such rebuke of president," 28 Dec. 2020 Moore's experience and tragic death sparked outrage and sadness across social media.
—
Justin L. Mack, USA TODAY, "Black doctor dies of coronavirus after reporting racist treatment at Indiana hospital," 24 Dec. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb This is a fun way to outrage your pointing-dog friends.
—
Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, "How to Kill Pheasants with Your Wild-Ass Retriever," 4 Dec. 2020 Those are the kinds of facts that will outrage the public.
—
Sy Mukherjee, Fortune, "Bristol Myers Squibb and Celgene got a beating in Congress on drug prices—but only Congress can fix the problem," 1 Oct. 2020 The mood in the country had turned from the anxious sadness surrounding covid-19 to outrage over police brutality and the killing of George Floyd.
—
Geoff Edgers, Washington Post, "Entertainers promised to see us through the quarantine. Even they are running out of steam.," 10 July 2020 Will outrage lead to lasting change? Pushed by a left-leaning workforce, big tech now regularly takes an activist stance on important issues, from immigration to the pandemic.
—
The Economist, "Beyond the pale Will Silicon Valley face up to its diversity problem?," 20 June 2020 Pointing to outrage in the community, Brooks again called for Sanders to resign.
—
Sarah Fowler, USA TODAY, "Mississippi GOP condemns local official for racist comments, but he won't resign," 17 June 2020 My social media feeds are full of complaints from parents who are still restricting in-person interaction for their kids and are outraged that others are not.
—
Lisa Selin Davis, CNN, "Playdates and the pandemic: Can kids safely meet up?," 30 May 2020 Count Machine Gun Kelly as yet another celebrity outraged after the death of George Floyd.
—
Troy L. Smith, cleveland, "Machine Gun Kelly says ‘(expletive) the police’ in response to George Floyd’s death," 28 May 2020 Republican voters and conservative donors are as outraged by Pelosi as the Resistance is at the president.
—
W. James Antle Iii, Washington Examiner, "Crucial Trump-Pelosi relationship craters as mutual heckling intensifies," 20 May 2020
See MoreThese 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.
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
More Definitions for outrage
outrage
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of outrage
(Entry 1 of 2)
: extreme anger : a strong feeling of unhappiness because of something bad, hurtful, or morally wrong
: something that hurts people or is morally wrong
outrage
verbEnglish Language Learners Definition of outrage (Entry 2 of 2)
: to make (someone) very angry
See the full definition for outrage in the English Language Learners Dictionary
outrage
nounout·rage | \ ˈau̇t-ˌrāj \
\Kids Definition of outrage
(Entry 1 of 2)
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
verboutraged; outraging
Kids Definition of outrage (Entry 2 of 2)
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.
outrage
nounout·rage | \ ˈau̇t-ˌrāj \
\Legal Definition of outrage
1 : a deeply offensive or violent act
2 : the tort of intentionally inflicting emotional distress
Keep scrolling for more
Comments on outrage
What made you want to look up outrage? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Test Your Vocabulary
Words of Snow and Ice Quiz
- Which of the following refers to thin, bending ice, or to the act of running over such ice?
Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZ
Anagram puzzles meet word search.
TAKE THE QUIZLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridgedWords at Play
Ask the Editors
Word Games
- Words of Snow and Ice Quiz
A selection of words from the chillier parts of t...
Take the quiz - Name that Thing: Toys and Games Edition
It's all fun and games until someone beats your h...
Take the quiz - True or False?
Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something a...
Take the quiz - SCRABBLE® Sprint
SCRABBLE® fans, sharpen your skills!
Play the game
Share outrage
Time Traveler for outrage
The first known use of outrage was in the 14th century
See more words from the same century