incensed 1 of 3

Definition of incensednext
as in enraged
feeling or showing anger incensed residents demanded that the police apprehend the punks who vandalized the cemetery

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

incensed

2 of 3

verb (1)

past tense of incense

incensed

3 of 3

verb (2)

past tense of incense
as in scented
to fill or infuse with a pleasant odor or odor-releasing substance the gift shop was heavily incensed with a cloying mixture of herbal essences

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 incensed
Adjective
Once in the hands of the incensed and terrified Portuguese authorities, Amador was swiftly punished. Literary Hub, 19 Mar. 2026 That morning, Barmore allegedly became incensed over the air conditioning being set at 70 degrees instead of 68 and again when his daughter wanted to visit him in his bedroom. Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 31 Dec. 2025 House Democratic Leader Karen Camper, D-Memphis, became incensed. Vivian Jones, Nashville Tennessean, 31 Oct. 2025 Songwriters are even more incensed, having to split their declining earnings with co-writers and taking a backseat to the producers and rights-holders who are out for their own pieces of the pie. Roy Trakin, Rolling Stone, 1 Oct. 2025
Verb
The Bulldogs got a break about 11 minutes in, when Sam Harris was whistled for an interference penalty that left Magness Arena incensed. Kyle Newman, Denver Post, 22 Mar. 2026 Chalamet’s comments go viral right away, and while said comments are accurate, the ballet and opera institutions, and their curiously vast sea of supporters, are incensed. Joe Reid, Vulture, 13 Mar. 2026 That incensed Britain and threatened Western economic interests. Vivian Salama, The Atlantic, 6 Mar. 2026 The dynamic has incensed Democrats, who have largely come out against the war, and led a handful of Republicans to raise questions. Garrett Downs, CNBC, 3 Mar. 2026 He’s particularly incensed that more liberals haven’t made the switch. James Rainey, Los Angeles Times, 27 Feb. 2026 But hazards hover both in the turning weather, a threat in particular to Flor’s severe asthma, and in Junior’s work environment, where he’s treated with racist disregard by his co-workers, while locals incensed by the company’s violation of the forest make vengeful overtures. Guy Lodge, Variety, 22 Feb. 2026 Far-right commentators were predictably incensed by Carton’s decision to call things off with the more politically ambivalent Ben Mezzenga. Savannah Walsh, Vanity Fair, 12 Feb. 2026 In 2018, Red Bull’s Formula 1 driver Max Verstappen was left incensed with Force India’s Esteban Ocon after the pair came together on lap 44 of the Brazilian Grand Prix. Sarah Shephard, New York Times, 11 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for incensed
Adjective
  • Shortly after administering the technical to an enraged Self, referee Doug Sirmons hit KU’s coach with another tech, ostensibly for remaining on the court instead of returning to the coach’s box.
    Gary Bedore March 5, Kansas City Star, 5 Mar. 2026
  • Latinx people of conscience recognize our own tios, tias, primos, primas, mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers in the brown faces being livestreamed with blood and agony pouring into enraged mouths asking for help.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 17 Feb. 2026
Adjective
  • That was the result of angry partisans taking seriously Trump’s bogus election-fraud claims.
    Steven Greenhut, Oc Register, 27 Mar. 2026
  • House Republicans are angry that the bill passed early Friday by the Senate does not fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol.
    Lisa Mascaro, Chicago Tribune, 27 Mar. 2026
Adjective
  • The policy Uthmeier is outraged about, known as the Rooney Rule, was first introduced in 2002.
    Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 30 Mar. 2026
  • The presidents of the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard, Columbia, and Northwestern subsequently resigned, unable to justify their decisions either to Congress or to their own outraged board members and donors.
    Rose Horowitch, The Atlantic, 25 Mar. 2026
Adjective
  • Police said the two male juveniles became angered when the other three would not take them to buy marijuana.
    Carlos E. Castañeda, CBS News, 20 Jan. 2026
  • Soon, the faces of the angered New York City citizens around her soften.
    Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 15 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Upon his return, Tagovailoa gave a rather indignant response to those who questioned his NFL future.
    Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 10 Mar. 2026
  • Still, these many practicalities fuse with the film’s emotional stories of indignant independence and romantic conflict thanks to a sense of analytical observation that is inherently social.
    Richard Brody, New Yorker, 6 Mar. 2026
Adjective
  • Britain and France were furious—the canal carried oil and other goods that were vital to European economies—and determined to take back control.
    Ishaan Tharoor, New Yorker, 30 Mar. 2026
  • Conservative hardliners in the House woke up furious that their Senate counterparts had passed a deal without ICE and Border Patrol funding in the dead of night.
    Nicole Fallert, USA Today, 27 Mar. 2026
Adjective
  • Some celebrities have gotten mad at him about the interactions, and some of them laugh about it with him.
    Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 29 Mar. 2026
  • Us senior surfers need to stick together to hold off the hordes of nasty agro kidbots that are violently intent on world domination and the spread of nuclear surf rabies and mad Red Bull disease.
    Corky Carroll, Oc Register, 28 Mar. 2026
Adjective
  • More than 100 aircraft launched from land and sea in the first day, with cyber and space campaigns degrading Iranian communications and sensors while the air campaign struck command-and-control centers, ballistic-missile sites, naval forces and intelligence infrastructure.
    Micah McCartney, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Apr. 2026
  • Nations now need to defend everywhere, all the time, against threats ranging from a $1,000 quadcopter with a half-pound of explosives to multimillion-dollar ballistic and hypersonic missiles.
    Brynn Tannehill, The Atlantic, 31 Mar. 2026

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Incensed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/incensed. Accessed 3 Apr. 2026.

More from Merriam-Webster on incensed

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster