Synonym Chooser

How does the noun indignation differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of indignation are anger, fury, ire, rage, and wrath. While all these words mean "an intense emotional state induced by displeasure," indignation stresses righteous anger at what one considers unfair, mean, or shameful.

a comment that caused general indignation

When can anger be used instead of indignation?

The synonyms anger and indignation are sometimes interchangeable, but anger, the most general term, names the reaction but by itself does not convey cause or intensity.

tried to hide his anger

When could ire be used to replace indignation?

The words ire and indignation are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, ire, more frequent in literary contexts, suggests an intense anger, often with an evident display of feeling.

cheeks flushed with ire

How are the words rage and fury related as synonyms of indignation?

Both rage and fury suggest loss of self-control from violence of emotion.

shook with rage
could not contain his fury

When is it sensible to use wrath instead of indignation?

While the synonyms wrath and indignation are close in meaning, 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 indignation When big gatherings of police and federal agents suddenly show up in residential areas, crowds often meet them with cell phone cameras, righteous indignation and insults. Daniel C. Vock, Chicago Tribune, 31 Aug. 2025 Seven chapters in descending order structure the movie’s story as a countdown of hiccups, indignations, and even a hallucination, a day each in a pivotal week that will determine Teresa’s destiny. Ritesh Mehta, IndieWire, 27 Aug. 2025 All summer long a sense of indignation has brewed and bubbled on Tyneside. Oliver Kay, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2025 As the container of our culture’s internal contradictions, including dogmatism and pragmatism, individualism and communitarianism, and Biercean indignation and Emersonian transcendence, hardcore is as American as atomic warfare. Chris R. Morgan, The Washington Examiner, 22 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for indignation
Recent Examples of Synonyms for indignation
Noun
  • Verbatim Reginald Dwayne Betts A 2012 essay from the American Poetry Review on poetry and the architecture of anger.
    JSTOR Daily, JSTOR Daily, 3 Oct. 2025
  • Morocco Anti-government protests fueled by anger over Morocco pouring money into preparations for the 2030 World Cup instead of public services have raged in the country for nearly a week.
    Connor Greene, Time, 2 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • That Barcelona, who reached a fifth successive Champions League final last season, reduced their squad number because of a need to save money sparked outrage.
    Megan Feringa, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025
  • The hamster wheel chain competition popped up on day 60 of Big Brother season 27 as part of the White Locust twist and once again made for undeniably riveting television, but this time, the fan reaction was something else — outrage.
    Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Maura is marvelous stomping around the apartment in a cold fury and refusing to speak to Clara, who proceeds regardless with broker negotiations and brings in antiques dealer Abslam (Ahmed Boulane) to buy up the contents.
    David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 3 Oct. 2025
  • Safdie perceptively locates the protagonist’s troubling inner contradictions—the atavistic fury that drives him to compete and the intense self-control that competition demands—but dramatizes such outer crises as opioid addiction and conflict with his girlfriend (Emily Blunt) only schematically.
    Vince Aletti, New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Winter's wrath continues with another cold spell predicted for mid-February.
    Kaycee Sloan, Cincinnati Enquirer, 3 Oct. 2025
  • When Hernán helps Julia and her young daughter, Maribel, navigate treacherous borderlands, their desperate journey triggers the wrath of a ruthless trafficking syndicate.
    Matt Grobar, Deadline, 1 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • And in the 1980s, a downtown-NYC-all-the-rage feminist painter exploits her female studio assistants.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 Oct. 2025
  • Flip-flops have proven to be all the rage lately, from the pool to the street to the runway.
    Jaden Thompson, Footwear News, 6 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Today, however, the mood among analysts is calm.
    Jim Edwards, Fortune, 1 Oct. 2025
  • The scent is designed to be mood-enhancing, evoking feelings of feminine prowess with blackcurrant absolute and base notes of oakmoss absolute.
    Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 1 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Indignation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/indignation. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on indignation

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