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verb

Synonym Chooser

How does the noun rage differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of rage are anger, fury, indignation, ire, and wrath. While all these words mean "an intense emotional state induced by displeasure," rage and fury suggest loss of self-control from violence of emotion.

shook with rage
could not contain his fury

Where would anger be a reasonable alternative to rage?

The words anger and rage can be used in similar contexts, but anger, the most general term, names the reaction but by itself does not convey cause or intensity.

tried to hide his anger

When can indignation be used instead of rage?

While in some cases nearly identical to rage, indignation stresses righteous anger at what one considers unfair, mean, or shameful.

a comment that caused general indignation

In what contexts can ire take the place of rage?

While the synonyms ire and rage are close in meaning, ire, more frequent in literary contexts, suggests an intense anger, often with an evident display of feeling.

cheeks flushed with ire

When is it sensible to use wrath instead of rage?

The synonyms wrath and rage are sometimes interchangeable, but wrath is likely to suggest a desire or intent to punish or get revenge.

I feared her wrath if I was discovered

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of rage
Noun
Chalotra still excels at giving Yennefer a desperate rage that makes her sorceress scenes visceral and exciting. Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 30 Oct. 2025 The early training scenes — in which Farrell’s brooding but ultimately loyal cop gets to channel his rage and frustration — are probably the best. Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 30 Oct. 2025
Verb
Sullen and death-obsessed, Lisa has no filter, a flair for the dramatic and a body full of raging hormones. Bailey Richards, PEOPLE, 31 Oct. 2025 The eugenics movement raged in America and abroad, and bodies deemed as ‘freaks’ could be subject to investigation, sterilization, or institutionalization. JSTOR Daily, 30 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for rage
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rage
Noun
  • LaVine and Monk whipped the crowd into a frenzy, combining to make 17 of 32 from the field and 10 of 18 from 3-point range as the Kings bounced back from a season-opening loss to the Phoenix Suns.
    Jason Anderson, Sacbee.com, 25 Oct. 2025
  • Despite the latest meme stock frenzy, Beyond Meat has nonetheless still fallen 23% so far in 2025 after tumbling 58% in 2024.
    Liz Napolitano, CNBC, 24 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Our hero is also being coveted by a crime boss, and as he gets pulled further and further into this world, Farrell has to show his inner violence and anger breaking through.
    Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 30 Oct. 2025
  • Symptoms can include memory loss, impulse control problems, anxiety, depression and anger issues.
    Jen Christensen, CNN Money, 30 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Beyond Meat once sold for almost $240 a share at the height of the meat alternative craze in the summer of 2019, after Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and Credit Suisse brought it public at $25 a share in a May 2019 initial public offering.
    Liz Napolitano, CNBC, 24 Oct. 2025
  • Raised in Blackpool, England, after his adoption into a working-class family, Ball grew up a budding artist with a penchant for the Northern soul craze then sweeping the north of England, obsessively collecting Tamla and Stax singles.
    Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 23 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Future studies will look at whether stabilizing blood pressure—through adjusting medication timing, regular exercise or stress management—could slow brain aging and reduce dementia risk.
    Lydia Patrick, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Oct. 2025
  • In Memory, Chastain played a social worker and single mother whose structured life is thrown into chaos when a young man dealing with dementia, played by Peter Sarsgaard, follows her home from their high school reunion.
    Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 30 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Stines, 44, was allegedly caught on security video storming into Mullins’ chambers before shooting him in an alleged courthouse ambush that rattled the Appalachian community.
    Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 30 Oct. 2025
  • Both personalities were on full display on Tuesday, when the B’s stormed back from 2-0 deficit with five unanswered goals to beat the New York Islanders, 5-2, at the Garden.
    Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 29 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Ferrara’s arrival in New York City and subsequent entry into the movie business is presented as something like a case of recidivism, a dive from suburban gentility into the cauldron of steaming garbage that was Fun City–era Manhattan.
    Nick Pinkerton, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
  • The clip then smash-cuts to a scene of Bruce as a child listening to his parents fight in the next room, and we’re meant to understand that the joy and power that steams off of the stage is a cure for the pain of childhood wounds.
    Sadie Sartini Garner, Pitchfork, 24 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Documents gone, Ma embarks on a weeklong rampage while readers also get to know teenage thief Boomba.
    Clare Mulroy, USA Today, 31 Oct. 2025
  • Jennifer’s Body follows two polar opposite best friends, the outgoing Jennifer and bookish Needy (Amanda Seyfried), whose friendship takes a turn when the former embarks on a murderous rampage of her male classmates.
    Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 26 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • This explains the indignation of those carrying college debt who demanded Joe Biden make their loans go away.
    Boston Herald editorial staff, Boston Herald, 29 Oct. 2025
  • No one should forget that songs and lyrics, especially during dark and troubled times, can create awareness, be used to arouse indignation, even bring about social change.
    Ray Rahman, Vulture, 23 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Rage.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rage. Accessed 5 Nov. 2025.

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