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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 scandal exposed how some wealthy families cheated and bribed to secure spots for their children at elite universities, sparking nationwide outrage over denied opportunities for more deserving students. Hanna Park, CNN Money, 3 Oct. 2025 Signing on to a boycott is an easy way to show outrage, to perform it. Gershom Gorenberg, The Atlantic, 3 Oct. 2025
Verb
The White House sought to distance itself from the strike, which has outraged regional powers and left ceasefire efforts in jeopardy. Kristina Karisch, The Hill, 15 Sep. 2025 Other Sky fans were similarly surprised and outraged by an unexpected announcement of an automatic renewal with a substantial increase last year. Ben Pickman, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for outrage
Recent Examples of Synonyms for outrage
Noun
  • The insults have been flying in the back-and-forth, and there doesn’t appear to be an end in sight for at least the short term.
    Michael Saponara, Billboard, 3 Oct. 2025
  • Some others within the group interpreted Yahaya’s lyrics as an insult to the Prophet Muhammad.
    Sean Nelson, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • McBride sets the political context for Swift’s savage indignation by noting that 1727–1729 saw three successive harvest failures in Ireland.
    Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 30 Sep. 2025
  • Passions run as high as style, and candor and fervor blend with humor, to endow anecdotes and reflections with pride and purpose along with mourning and indignation.
    Richard Brody, New Yorker, 23 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Reporters in the Brady Room earlier this week were greeted by the meme on a loop; the vice president, addressing them on the shutdown, laughed at Democrats who were offended by the trope.
    David Weigel, semafor.com, 3 Oct. 2025
  • And faculty worry that teaching certain subject matter and texts might offend students and, if students complain, lead to administrative sanctions.
    Louis Menand, New Yorker, 26 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • And nothing angers the Survivor gods more than reality TV hubris.
    Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 2 Oct. 2025
  • Comments the host made after the murder of right wing activist and influencer Charlie Kirk angered MAGA supporters and saw the nation’s largest station group, Nexstar – which has its own mega merger up for review at the FCC – preempt the late night staple.
    Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 30 Sep. 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
Verb
  • In March, a bloc of centrist lawmakers broke ranks to advance a Republican spending bill without concessions, infuriating progressive groups that accused party leaders of capitulation.
    Nik Popli, Time, 30 Sep. 2025
  • My astrologer’s eyes twinkled with infuriating delight.
    Jessie Rosen, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • The sarcasm has passed down generations.
    Brian Anthony Hernandez, PEOPLE, 27 Sep. 2025
  • The decision in Gardner’s favor could become a significant ruling for celebrities who use humor, exaggeration and sarcasm that some might find inappropriate when responding to strangers on social media platforms.
    Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 25 Sep. 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

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Cite this Entry

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

More from Merriam-Webster on outrage

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