Definition of outragenext
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outrage

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verb

Synonym Chooser

How is the word outrage distinct from other similar verbs?

Some common synonyms of outrage are affront, insult, and offend. While all these words mean "to cause hurt feelings or deep resentment," outrage implies offending beyond endurance and calling forth extreme feelings.

outraged by their accusations

When can affront be used instead of outrage?

While in some cases nearly identical to outrage, affront implies treating with deliberate rudeness or contemptuous indifference to courtesy.

deeply affronted by his callousness

In what contexts can insult take the place of outrage?

The words insult and outrage can be used in similar contexts, but insult suggests deliberately causing humiliation, hurt pride, or shame.

insulted every guest at the party

When is offend a more appropriate choice than outrage?

In some situations, the words offend and outrage are roughly equivalent. However, offend need not imply an intentional hurting but it may indicate merely a violation of the victim's sense of what is proper or fitting.

hoped that my remarks had not offended her

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 outrage
Noun
The liberal list of Republican offenses is long—so long, indeed, that the outrages blur. Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026 Many politicians have either seized on the outrage or scrambled to shield themselves from the growing anger. Christopher Cann, USA Today, 30 Aug. 2026
Verb
In Miami, Mayor Carlos Alvarez was recalled and overwhelmingly voted out of office in 2011 due to outrage over his public funding of a controversial new Marlins stadium. Cuyler Dunn, Kansas City Star, 17 Aug. 2026 Bigger, Longer & Uncut, in which the flatulent Canadian comedians Terrance and Phillip outrage the parents of South Park with their foul-mouthed hit comedy Asses of Fire. Damon Wise, Deadline, 13 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for outrage
Recent Examples of Synonyms for outrage
Noun
  • He was subsequently dismissed by Dior and, months later, found guilty by a French court of making public insults based on origin, religion, race, or ethnicity.
    Daisy Maldonado, InStyle, 31 Aug. 2026
  • The arrest came after Kelley Wolf had reportedly made a series of hostile social media posts, which featured insults and allegations against various friends and family, including her ex-husband, Wolf.
    Edward Segarra, USA Today, 31 Aug. 2026
Noun
  • On cue, China expressed indignation about anti-missile deployments.
    Arthur I. Cyr, Chicago Tribune, 18 Aug. 2026
  • Mind you, Miss Manners agrees with your indignation at this fraudulent maneuver.
    Judith Martin, Mercury News, 21 July 2026
Verb
  • DeChatelet, an acting instructor at Florida Atlantic University, uses his halting speech to depict a person who’s afraid of offending anyone.
    Oline Cogdill, Sun Sentinel, 24 Aug. 2026
  • Patterson indicated he wasn’t offended when the Dolphins signed Gonzalez as competition.
    Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 21 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • That angered Michigan Democrats who were frustrated with El-Sayed, and brought Jeffries and other Democrats into the fray, putting the candidate El-Sayed had invested the most in on the defensive.
    David Weigel, semafor.com, 28 Aug. 2026
  • The president is defending the data center boom as GOP officials across the country turn against projects that have angered voters.
    Cat Zakrzewski, Washington Post, 27 Aug. 2026
Noun
  • The other presidents had some semblance of comedic appreciation, whether through cynicism, irony, sarcasm, joke-telling, joke appreciation or storytelling.
    John Blumenthal, Chicago Tribune, 16 Aug. 2026
  • Like all of Roth’s content, there is a mix of dead seriousness, dry sarcasm, and wondrous joy in equal measure.
    Marisa Meltzer, Vanity Fair, 12 Aug. 2026
Noun
  • Even among the worldliest of us, an unexpected roundabout can trigger a fireworks-and-bald-eagles display of patriotic rage.
    AJ Willingham, AJC.com, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Pushing boundaries for new radiopharmaceuticals Radiopharmaceuticals are all the rage in some biotech circles, but some voices of caution are saying slow down.
    Elizabeth Cooney, STAT, 31 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • The White House’s abrupt decision last week to ease tariffs on 300,000 metric tons — more than 660 million pounds — of foreign beef imports has infuriated American cattle ranchers and congressional Republicans alike.
    Jane Onyanga-Omara, USA Today, 27 Aug. 2026
  • The heated rhetoric has infuriated and astonished most Canadians; in a recent poll, seventy-six per cent supported the decision of the Prime Minister, Mark Carney, to walk away from trade talks with Washington.
    Ishaan Tharoor, New Yorker, 27 Aug. 2026
Noun
  • Hollywood can forgive a lot, but being beaten by ‘CatVideoFest’ is the sort of indignity that writes its own punchline.
    Christina Dugan Ramirez , Ashley Papa , Stephanie Nolasco, FOXNews.com, 15 Aug. 2026
  • Moreover, because the Sears catalog did not racially discriminate, economic historians credit the catalog as a major tool for Black consumers to side-step the indignities and discrimination of Jim Crow commerce.
    Harold Pollack, Chicago Tribune, 14 Aug. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Outrage.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/outrage. Accessed 4 Sep. 2026.

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