dudgeon

Definition of dudgeonnext

Synonym Chooser

How is the word dudgeon distinct from other similar nouns?

Some common synonyms of dudgeon are huff, offense, pique, resentment, and umbrage. While all these words mean "an emotional response to or an emotional state resulting from a slight or indignity," dudgeon suggests an angry fit of indignation.

stormed out of the meeting in high dudgeon

When would huff be a good substitute for dudgeon?

The words huff and dudgeon are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, huff implies a peevish short-lived spell of anger usually at a petty cause.

in a huff he slammed the door

When could offense be used to replace dudgeon?

Although the words offense and dudgeon have much in common, offense implies hurt displeasure.

takes deep offense at racial slurs

When is it sensible to use pique instead of dudgeon?

The synonyms pique and dudgeon are sometimes interchangeable, but pique applies to a transient feeling of wounded vanity.

in a pique I foolishly declined the invitation

Where would resentment be a reasonable alternative to dudgeon?

The words resentment and dudgeon can be used in similar contexts, but resentment suggests lasting indignation or ill will.

harbored a lifelong resentment of his brother

In what contexts can umbrage take the place of dudgeon?

The meanings of umbrage and dudgeon largely overlap; however, umbrage may suggest hurt pride, resentment, or suspicion of another's motives.

took umbrage at the offer of advice

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 dudgeon Beck is in a state of high dudgeon, because there’s a big shipment due and two of his drivers are AWOL. Chris Klimek, Vulture, 20 Feb. 2025 Close’s game, canny performance of reliving her own past couldn’t quite obscure the ungainliness of some of Webber’s songs, the dudgeon and occasional monotony of the sung-through score, or the strain of trying to generate plot friction in a story with only four major characters. Daniel D'addario, Variety, 21 Oct. 2024 Instead, the high dudgeon now heard in Tennant’s fey voice gives too much weight to the smugness of group-thinkers. Armond White, National Review, 18 Sep. 2024 Truth Social, meanwhile, is its own, strange creature: a social media platform born out of Donald Trump’s dudgeon at being banned from Facebook and Twitter due to his posts on those platforms. Samanth Subramanian, Quartz, 23 Mar. 2024 But some Angelenos took their picket signs and their dudgeon to City Hall. Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2023 Dederer is at her best on such complicities—her own fondness for assholes, our cultural fascination with monsters—and less convincing when in a dudgeon, or deploying her feelings and experiences as intellectual credentials. Laura Kipnis, The New Republic, 5 May 2023 But the movement is flummoxed now that its style of one-way dialogue and high-dudgeon shaming is provoking sharp backlash from illiberal strongmen, right-wing populists, and the mass constituencies that support these strongmen around the globe. Jack Snyder, Foreign Affairs, 21 July 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dudgeon
Noun
  • Among agonized grunts and huffs, Probst narrated the fumbles.
    Sarah Grant, New Yorker, 2 Feb. 2026
  • David walks out of the kitchen and Moira huffs and takes his spot over the pot.
    Sabrina Weiss, PEOPLE, 31 Jan. 2026
Noun
  • National media stories appear almost daily about taxpayers’ anger over ever increasing levies on their homes.
    Jon Coupal, Oc Register, 27 Mar. 2026
  • Iannarelli discussed how threatening individuals often escalate their anger verbally.
    Evonne Andris, Miami Herald, 26 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • Those calls have been met with eye-rolling and righteous indignation.
    Daniel DePetris, Chicago Tribune, 17 Mar. 2026
  • But this indignation ignores what Chalamet was actually saying.
    Tiana Lowe Doescher, The Washington Examiner, 13 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • This Editorial Board took particular umbrage at the shady origins of the proposal.
    The Editorial Board, Oc Register, 18 Mar. 2026
  • Aunt Fely, with her compliments and her contrived umbrage at the theatricality of my sartorial gesture, was only a minute away.
    Han Ong, New Yorker, 15 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • But Apple shut down Dark Sky in 2023, prompting an online outcry, and Grossman eventually left out of frustration with Apple’s sluggish corporate schedule of annual software updates.
    Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2026
  • Luz Diaz Luz Diaz took her frustration to Hackensack City Hall on Tuesday evening.
    Adi Guajardo, CBS News, 25 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • Across town, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman and manager Aaron Boone seem to operate with permanent job security, much to the exasperation of a certain segment of the team’s fan base.
    Ken Rosenthal, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2026
  • Cuarón clearly understood that the more extravagant choices can only function in the periphery of a sturdy emotional anchor, an actor with the gravitas to communicate the exasperation that Liborio feels in a reality that overwhelms him.
    Carlos Aguilar, Variety, 18 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • While frustration in both parties between the House and Senate is endemic to the institution of Congress, resentment within the GOP felt almost palpable on March 27.
    Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 28 Mar. 2026
  • Yet maybe, as the cartoonish machismo of Trumpism proves its hollowness, America’s latent resentment can be channeled to better ends.
    Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 27 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • To scale up on the theme, add curtains or drapery for a peekaboo moment, and pique curiosity by scentscaping with candles or glass diffusers that exude notes of cedarwood and dark florals such as jasmine.
    Yelena Moroz Alpert, Architectural Digest, 9 Mar. 2026
  • The administration has tried everything in its toolbox to stop it, based on not data or studies or anything much beyond rich-old-man pique.
    Christopher Bonanos, Curbed, 3 Mar. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Dudgeon.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dudgeon. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.

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