GeezerVison

See also: Anger and ånger

English

Etymology

From Middle English anger (“grief, pain, trouble, affliction, vexation, sorrow, wrath”), from Old Norse angr, ǫngr (“affliction, sorrow”) (compare Old Norse ang, ǫng (“troubled”)), from Proto-Germanic *angazaz (“grief, sorrow”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂enǵʰ- (“narrow, tied together”).

Cognate with Danish anger (“regret, remorse”), Norwegian Bokmål anger (“regret, remorse”), Swedish ånger (“regret”), Icelandic angur (“trouble”), Old English ange, enge (“narrow, close, straitened, constrained, confined, vexed, troubled, sorrowful, anxious, oppressive, severe, painful, cruel”), German Angst (“anxiety, anguish, fear”), Latin angō (“squeeze, choke, vex”), angor (“strangulation; anguish, torment”) (whence the English doublet angor), French angoisse, Albanian ang (“fear, anxiety, pain, nightmare”), Avestan 𐬄𐬰𐬀𐬵 (ązah, “strangulation; distress”), Ancient Greek ἄγχω (ánkhō, “to squeeze, strangle”), Sanskrit अंहस् (aṃhas), अंहु (aṃhu, “anxiety, distress, affliction”, literally “narrowness”). Also compare with English anguish, anxious, quinsy, and perhaps to awe and ugly. The word seems to have originally meant “to choke, squeeze”.^[1]

The verb is from Middle English angren, angeren, from Old Norse angra. Compare with Icelandic angra, Norwegian Nynorsk angra, Norwegian Bokmål angre, Swedish ångra, Danish angre.

Pronunciation

(non-rhotic)
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈæŋɡə/, [ˈæŋɡə] ~ [ˈaŋɡə]
- (Standard Southern British, Northern England, Scotland, Wales) IPA^(key): /ˈaŋɡə/, [ˈaŋɡə]
- (Australia) IPA^(key): /ˈæːŋɡə/
  - (without /æ/ raising) IPA^(key): [ˈæːŋɡə]
  - (/æ/ raising) IPA^(key): [ˈɛːŋɡə] ~ [ˈeːŋɡə]
- (New Zealand) IPA^(key): /ˈɛŋɡə/, [ˈɛŋɡə]
(rhotic)
- (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈæŋɡɚ/
  - (without /æ/ raising) IPA^(key): [ˈæŋɡɚ]
  - (/æ/ raising) IPA^(key): [ˈeɪ̯ŋɡɚ] ~ [ˈɛ̃ŋɡɚ]
    - Audio (US): (file)
Rhymes: -æŋɡə(ɹ)
Hyphenation: an‧ger

Noun

anger (countable and uncountable, plural angers)

A strong and unpleasant feeling of displeasure, hostility, or antagonism, usually combined with an urge to yell, curse, damage or destroy things, or harm living beings, often stemming from perceived provocation, hurt, threat, insults, unfair or unjust treatment, or an undesired situation.
Synonyms: see Thesaurus:anger

vent one's anger

relieve one's anger

manage one's anger

soothe one's anger

show one's anger

do something in anger

You need to control your anger.
- 2013 June 28, Joris Luyendijk, “Our banks are out of control”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 3, page 21:
  Seeing the British establishment struggle with the financial sector is like watching an alcoholic […]. Until 2008 there was denial over what finance had become. When a series of bank failures made this impossible, there was widespread anger, leading to the public humiliation of symbolic figures.
(obsolete) Pain or stinging.
- 1660, Simon Patrick, Mensa mystica, published 1717, page 322:
  It heals the Wounds that Sin hath made; and takes away the Anger of the Sore; […]
- 1679, William Temple, “An Essay upon the Cure of Gout by Moxa. […]”, in Miscellanea. […], London: […] A. M. and R. R. for Edw[ard] Gellibrand, […], →OCLC, page 209:
  I immediately made the Experiment, ſetting the Moxa where the firſt Violence of my Pain began, which was the Joint of the great Toe, and where the greateſt Anger and Soreneſs ſtill continued, [...]

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

strong feeling of displeasure, hostility or antagonism towards someone or something — see also ire,‎ rage

Afrikaans: drif, toorn, kwaadheid
Aghwan: 𐔼𐕔𐕒𐕡𐕎 (ifun)
Albanian: inat (sq) m, zemërim (sq) m, mëri (sq) f
Altai:
Southern Altai: ачу (aču)
Amharic: ቁጣ (ḳuṭa)
Arabic: غَضَب m (ḡaḍab)
Egyptian Arabic: نرفزه f (narfáza, narváza)
Argobba: ቁሻ (qušā)
Armenian: զայրույթ (hy) (zayruytʻ), բարկություն (hy) (barkutʻyun), ջղայինություն (hy) (ǰġayinutʻyun)
Assamese: খং (khoṅ)
Avar: цим (cim)
Azerbaijani: hirs (az), hiddət (az), qeyz, qəzəb (az)
Bangi: nkanda
Bashkir: асыу (asïw)
Basque: haserre
Belarusian: гнеў (be) m (hnjew), злосць f (zloscʹ)
Bengali: রাগ (bn) (rag)
Bhojpuri: खीस (khīs)
Bikol:
Central Bikol: dagit (bcl)
Bulgarian: гняв (bg) m (gnjav), яд (bg) m (jad),
Catalan: ira (ca) f, còlera (ca) f, ràbia (ca) f, enuig (ca) m
Cebuano: kasuko, kapungot
Chinese:
Mandarin: 發怒 / 发怒 (zh) (fānù), 忿怒 (zh) (fènnù), 火氣 / 火气 (zh) (huǒqì), 怒氣 / 怒气 (zh) (nùqì)
Cornish: anger m, coler m, sorr m
Czech: vztek (cs) m, hněv (cs) m, zlost f
Danish: vrede (da) c
Dutch: boosheid (nl) f, woede (nl) f
Esperanto: kolero (eo)
Estonian: viha (et)
Ewe: dzibibi, dzikukpɔkpɔ
Farefare: sũ-isgre
Farefare: sũ-isgre
Finnish: viha (fi), suuttumus (fi)
French: colère (fr) f, ire (fr) f, courroux (fr) m, rage (fr) f, fureur (fr) f
Old French: ire f
Frisian:
West Frisian: grime
Galician: cabuxo (gl) m, oura f, carraxe (gl) f, asaño m, refusía f, rebinxe f, rabia (gl) f
Georgian: ბრაზი (brazi), წყრომა (c̣q̇roma)
German: Ärger (de) m, Zorn (de) m, Wut (de) m, Groll (de) m, Ingrimm (de) m, Grimm (de) m, Furor (de) m, Jähzorn (de) m
Greek: οργή (el) f (orgí), θυμός (el) m (thymós), τσαντίλα (el) f (tsantíla)
Ancient Greek: ὀργή f (orgḗ)
Haitian Creole: kòlè
Hebrew: כַּעַס (he) m (kā‘ās)
Hindi: क्रोध (hi) m (krodh), ग़ुस्सा (hi) m (ġussā)
Hittite: 𒋼𒀀𒁲𒈪𒅀𒊍
Hungarian: harag (hu), düh (hu)
Icelandic: reiði (is) f
Ido: iraco (io)
Indonesian: amarah (id)
Irish: fearg f, corraí m or f
Old Irish: ferg f
Italian: ira (it) f, rabbia (it) f, collera (it) f
Japanese: 怒り (ja) (いかり, ikari), 忿怒 (ja) (ふんど, fundo, ふんぬ, funnu), 怒気 (ja) (どき, doki)
Kannada: ಕೋಪ (kn) (kōpa)
Kazakh: ашу (ašuw), қаһар (qahar), зығырдан (zığırdan), зығыр (zığır)
Khmer: កំហឹង (km) (kɑmhəng)
Korean: 성 (ko) (seong), 분노(憤怒) (ko) (bunno), 화(火) (ko) (hwa)
Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: تووڕەیی (tûrreyî)
Kyrgyz: ачуу (ky) (acuu), каар (ky) (kaar)
Ladin: sënn m
Latgalian: sirdeigums, sirdeiba, dusme, špetneiba
Latin: īra (la) f
Latvian: piktums m, dusmas f pl
Lingala: nkanda, nkele
Lithuanian: pyktis (lt) m
Luxembourgish: Ierger m
Macedonian: лутина f (lutina), гнев m (gnev)
Malay: kemarahan (ms)
Malayalam: ദേഷ്യം (ml) (dēṣyaṁ), കോപം (ml) (kōpaṁ), ക്രോധം (ml) (krōdhaṁ)
Māori: whakatuma, hīnawanawa, hīkaka
Marathi: राग m (rāg), क्रोध m (krodh)
Middle English: anger
Mongo: nkele
Mongolian:
Cyrillic: уур хилэн (uur xilen)
Neapolitan: raggia f
Nepali: रिस (ris)
Norwegian: sinne (no) n
Occitan: ira (oc) f, colèra (oc) f, ràbia (oc) f
Old Church Slavonic:
Cyrillic: гнѣвъ m (gněvŭ)
Old English: ierre n
Oromo: aarii (om)
Persian: خشم (fa) (xašm), غضب (fa) (ġazab)
Plautdietsch: Spiet m
Polish: złość (pl) f, gniew (pl) m, wkurw m (vulgar)
Portuguese: raiva (pt) f, ira (pt) f
Quechua: phiña
Réunion Creole French: raz
Romanian: furie (ro) f, mânie (ro) f, enervare (ro) f
Russian: гнев (ru) m (gnev), злость (ru) f (zlostʹ), зло́ба (ru) f (zlóba)
Sanskrit: कोप (sa) m (kopa), क्रोध (sa) m (krodha), इरस् (sa) n (iras)
Sardinian: arrenigna f, crocone m, grema f, bischiza f, cardedda f
Scots: angir
Scottish Gaelic: fearg f, corraich f
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: љу́тња f, гне̑в (Ekavian), гње̑в m (Ijekavian), гнив m (Ikavian, Chakavian)

Latin: ljútnja (sh) f, gnȇv (sh) m (Ekavian), gnjȇv (sh) m (Ijekavian), gniv m (Ikavian, Chakavian)
Sicilian: raggia (scn) f
Slovak: hnev m, zlosť f
Slovene: jeza (sl) f, gnev m (wrath)
Spanish: enfado (es) m, enojo (es) m, cólera (es) f
Swahili: hasira (sw), hamaki (sw) class IX/X
Swedish: ilska (sv), vrede (sv)
Tagalog: galit
Tajik: хашм (xašm), ғазаб (ġazab)
Tamil: கோபம் (ta) (kōpam)
Telugu: కోపం (te) (kōpaṁ)
Thai: วิโรธ (wí-rôot)
Tocharian B: tremi ?
Turkish: öfke (tr), kızgınlık (tr), hiddet (tr)
Ottoman Turkish: اوفكه (ufke, öfke), قیزغینلق (kızgınlık)
Ukrainian: гнів m (hniv), злість f (zlistʹ)
Urdu: غصہ (ġussā), خشم (xaśm), طیش (taiś)
Uyghur: غەزەپ (ug) (ghezep)
Uzbek: gʻazab (uz)
Vietnamese: mối giận, sự tức giận
Welsh: bâr m
Wolaytta: hanqquwa
Yiddish: רוגז m (roygez), רוגזה f (rugze), ירגזון n (yirgozn)
Zhuang: please add this translation if you can

Verb

anger (third-person singular simple present angers, present participle angering, simple past and past participle angered)

(transitive) To cause such a feeling of antagonism in.
Synonyms: enrage, infuriate, annoy, vex, grill, displease, aggravate, irritate

He who angers you conquers you.
- 1911, Heinrich Heine, translated by John Payne, The Poetical Works of Heinrich Heine: Now First Completely Rendered into English Verse, in Accordance with the Original Forms, volume one, Villon Society, page 176:
  “Poetling, fret thyself not! / I will not one tittle imperil / Thy sorry cockboat; / Nor yet thy poor dear life will I harass / With over-hazardous tossings. / For thou, little poet, ne’er angeredst me; / Thou hast me no least little pinnacle harmed / Of Priamus’ sacrosanct stronghold; / Nor even the least little lash hast thou singed / Of the eye of my son Polyphemus; / And thee with her counsels protected hath ne’er / The Goddess of Wisdom, Pallas Athené.”
- 2025 February 1, Tami Luhby, Eric Bradner and Rene Marsh, “Federal employees confused, angered by Trump’s offer to quit”, in CNN‎^[1], Atlanta, Ga.: Warner Bros. Discovery, archived from the original on 5 March 2026:
  President Donald Trump’s offer to most federal employees to resign now and be paid through September stunned the workers who received it – angering some, confusing many and raising questions about whether the offer is even legal.
(intransitive) To become angry.
Synonyms: get angry (see angry for more), bristle, flare

You anger too easily.

Derived terms

Translations

to cause such a feeling of antagonism

Albanian: inatos (sq), zemëroj (sq), nevrikos (sq)
Arabic: أَغْضَبَ (ʔaḡḍaba)
Egyptian Arabic: ينرفز m (yenárfez, yenárvez)
Armenian: զայրացնել (zayracʻnel), ջղայնացնել (ǰġaynacʻnel), բարկացնել (barkacʻnel)
Bulgarian: ядосвам (bg) (jadosvam), разгневявам (bg) (razgnevjavam)
Catalan: enfadar (ca), enutjar (ca), cabrejar (ca)
Cherokee: ᎧᎾᎸᏍᏗᎭ (kanalvsdiha)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 激怒 (zh) (jīnù)
Cornish: angra, serry
Czech: rozzlobit
Dutch: boos maken
Esperanto: kolerigib
Ewe: bi dzi, kpɔ dziku
Faroese: øða
Finnish: saada vihaiseksi, suututtaa (fi)
French: mettre en colère (fr), fâcher (fr), encolérer (fr)
Galician: enfadar (gl), quentar (gl), asañar (gl)
Georgian: please add this translation if you can
German: ärgern (de)
Greek: θυμώνω (el) (thymóno)
Ancient Greek: ὀργίζω (orgízō), χολόω (kholóō)
Hebrew: הִכְעִיס (hikhʿís), הרגיז (hirgíz)
Hungarian: dühít (hu), feldühít (hu)
Icelandic: gera reiðan, reita til reiði
Ido: iracigar (io)
Italian: far arrabbiare, far adirare, muovere a ira (literary), adirare (uncommon)
Japanese: おこらせる
Judeo-Italian: אִינְקֵירוּפֵיטִיאַרֵי (/⁠incherupetiare⁠/)
Korean: 화나게 하다 (hwanage hada)
Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: تووڕەکِردِن (tûrrekirdin)
Latin: faciō īrātus, irrītō, exacerbō
Latvian: piktoties
Malayalam: ദേഷ്യം പിടിപ്പിക്കുക (dēṣyaṁ piṭippikkuka), കോപാകുലനാക്കുക (kōpākulanākkuka) (male), കോപാകുലനായാക്കുക (kōpākulanāyākkuka) (female), ദേഷ്യപ്പെടുത്തുക (dēṣyappeṭuttuka)
Middle English: angren
Occitan: encolerir (oc), amaliciar
Polish: złościć (pl)
Portuguese: irar (pt), enraivecer (pt), encolerizar (pt)
Russian: злить (ru) (zlitʹ), серди́ть (ru) (serdítʹ), гневи́ть (ru) (gnevítʹ)
Sardinian: annichidare
Slovene: razjeziti
Spanish: enojar (es), enconar (es), enviscar (es), enfadar (es), sacar de quicio (es), enrabiar (es), desquiciar (es), enfurecer (es), encorajinar (es), encolerizar (es), enrabietar (es)
Swedish: förarga (sv), förilska
Turkish: kızdırmak (tr), öfkelendirmek (tr), sinirlendirmek (tr)
Vietnamese: làm ai tức giận

to become angry

Arabic: غَضِبَ (ḡaḍiba)
Egyptian Arabic: اتنرفز m (etnárfez, etnárvez)
Azerbaijani: hirslənmək (az), əsəbləşmək (az), qəzəblənmək
Bengali: রাগ করা (rag kora), রেগে যাওয়া (rege jaōẇa)
Catalan: enfadar-se (ca)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 生气 (zh) (shēngqì)
Comorian:
Ngazidja Comorian: uhea usiu
Cornish: cafos anger, serry
Dutch: kwaad worden, boos worden
Esperanto: koleriĝib
Finnish: vihastua (fi), suuttua (fi)
French: se mettre en colère (fr)
Galician: enfadarse, asañarse (gl), enrabiarse
Georgian: please add this translation if you can
German: zornig werden, wütend werden
Greek:
Ancient Greek: ὀργίζομαι (orgízomai)
Hebrew: כָּעַס (he) (kaʿás)
Hungarian: feldühödik (hu), bedühödik (hu)
Icelandic: reiðast
Ingrian: suuttua, nenästyä
Italian: arrabbiarsi (it), adirarsi (it), muoversi a ira (literary)
Japanese: 怒る (ja) (okoru)
Korean: 화나다 (ko) (hwanada)
Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: تووڕەبوون (tûrrebûn)
Latin: īrāscor
Malayalam: ദേഷ്യപ്പെടുക (dēṣyappeṭuka)
Marathi: रागवणे (rāgavṇe)
Miwok:
Central Sierra Miwok: hojíč-ŋe-
Occitan: s'encolerir (oc), s'amaliciar
Polish: złościć się (pl), gniewać się (pl)
Portuguese: enraivecer (pt)
Romanian: se înfuria, se enerva
Russian: серди́ться (ru) impf (serdítʹsja), рассерди́ться (ru) pf (rasserdítʹsja); зли́ться (ru) impf (zlítʹsja), разозли́ться (ru) pf (razozlítʹsja); гне́ваться (ru) impf (gnévatʹsja), разгне́ваться (ru) pf (razgnévatʹsja)
Sardinian: inchietare, arrennegare, acroconare
Spanish: enojarse (es), enfadarse (es), empurrarse (es) (Latin America), enconarse (es)
Tamil: கோபி (ta) (kōpi)
Turkish: kızmak (tr), sinirlenmek (tr), öfkelenmek (tr)
Vietnamese: nổi giận (vi)
Walloon: si måvler (wa), si mwaijhi (wa)

References

“anger”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin Eli Smith, editors (1895–1910), “anger”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.

^ “anger”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Anagrams

Agner, Negar, Regan, areng, grane, range, rangé, regna, renga

Danish

Etymology

From Old Danish angær, from Old Norse angr, from Proto-Germanic *angazaz.

Noun

anger c (singular definite angeren, not used in plural form)

regret, remorse, contrition
Synonym: ruelse (“archaic”)

Declension

Declension of *anger*
common gender	singular
common gender	indefinite	definite
nominative	anger	angeren
genitive	angers	angerens

Derived terms

References

“anger” in Den Danske Ordbog
“anger” in Ordbog over det danske Sprog

Finnish

Etymology 1

Related to standard ankerias.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈɑŋːer/, [ˈɑ̝ŋːe̞r]
Rhymes: -ɑŋːer
Syllabification^(key): an‧ger
Hyphenation^(key): an‧ger

Noun

anger (dialectal, Eastern Finnish)

synonym of ankerias (“eel”)

Etymology 2

Related to standard angervo.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈɑŋːer/, [ˈɑ̝ŋːe̞r]
Rhymes: -ɑŋːer
Syllabification^(key): an‧ger
Hyphenation^(key): an‧ger

Noun

anger (dialectal, Eastern Finnish)

synonym of angervo (“plant of the genus Filipendula”)

References

“anger”, in Suomen murteiden sanakirja [Dictionary of Finnish Dialects]‎^[2] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, incomplete, continuously updated), Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten keskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2022, →ISSN.