I. an ‧ ger 1 W3 /ˈæŋɡə $ -ər/ BrE AmE noun [uncountable]
[ Word Family: verb : ↑ anger ; noun : ↑ anger ; adverb : ↑ angrily ; adjective : ↑ angry ]
[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Language: Old Norse ; Origin: angr 'great sorrow' ]
1 . a strong feeling of wanting to hurt or criticize someone because they have done something bad to you or been unkind to you:
There is growing anger among the people against the government.
anger at
She struggled to control her anger at her son’s disobedience.
in anger
‘That’s a lie!’ he shouted in anger.
2 . do/use something in anger to do or use something for the first time, or in a real situation:
He joined the club last month, but has yet to kick a ball in anger.
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COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ be filled with anger/be full of anger
His face was suddenly filled with anger.
▪ be shaking with anger
My aunt was shaking with anger as she left the room.
▪ be seething with anger (=be extremely angry)
Seething with anger and frustration, Polly pushed back her chair and stood up.
▪ express your anger ( also vent your anger formal ) (=show your anger)
Demonstrators expressed their anger by burning American flags.
▪ hide your anger
For a second he was unable to hide his anger.
▪ control/contain your anger
I could not control my anger any longer.
▪ arouse/provoke anger ( also stir up anger informal ) (=make people angry)
The referee’s decision provoked anger among the fans.
▪ fuel anger (=make people even more angry)
The row could fuel growing anger among the Labour party.
▪ sb’s anger goes away/subsides/fades (=it stops)
I counted to ten and waited for my anger to go away.
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His anger slowly subsided.
■ adjectives
▪ deep/great/fierce anger
There is deep anger against the occupying forces.
▪ growing/rising/mounting anger
There is growing anger among drivers over the rise in fuel prices.
▪ widespread anger (=among many people)
The decision to build the airport has provoked widespread anger.
▪ public/popular anger
By now public anger in America was mounting.
▪ suppressed/pent-up anger (=that you have tried not to show)
Her voice shook with suppressed anger.
▪ real anger
There is real anger about the amount of money that has been wasted.
▪ righteous anger often disapproving (=anger felt when you think something should not be allowed to happen)
The speech was full of righteous anger against the West.
■ phrases
▪ a fit/outburst of anger (=an occasion when someone suddenly becomes angry)
His occasional outbursts of anger shocked those around him.
▪ a feeling of anger
He was overcome by a sudden feeling of anger against the people who had put him there.
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THESAURUS
▪ anger a strong emotion that you feel because someone has behaved badly or because a situation seems bad or unfair:
Andrea still feels a lot of anger towards her mom, who left when she was a little girl.
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I’ve said some things in anger that have almost cost me my marriage.
▪ annoyance slight anger or impatience:
He expressed annoyance at the way his comments had been misinterpreted.
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The meetings were held in secret, much to the annoyance of some members of Congress.
▪ irritation a feeling of being annoyed and impatient, especially because something keeps happening or someone keeps saying something:
He could not hide his irritation at her persistent questioning.
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Unwanted sales calls are a source of irritation for many people.
▪ frustration a feeling of being annoyed, especially because you cannot do what you want or because you cannot change or control a situation:
You can imagine my frustration when I found out that the next bus didn’t leave till 4 hours later.
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There is a growing sense of frustration over the situation in Burma.
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The government has expressed frustration at the slow legal process.
▪ exasperation a feeling of being very annoyed because you cannot control a situation, learn to do something, or understand something, even though you are trying very hard:
Isaac sighed in exasperation.
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Exasperation at the team’s lack of success was evident among the fans.
▪ resentment anger because you think you are being treated badly or unfairly:
The sudden increase in the numbers of immigrants has caused resentment among local people.
▪ indignation anger and surprise about an unfair situation:
His voice sounded full of indignation.
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The scandal caused righteous indignation among opposition politicians.
▪ ill/bad feeling anger between two people because of something that has happened:
I had no ill feeling towards him.
▪ rancour British English , rancor American English formal a feeling of anger and hatred towards someone who you cannot forgive because they harmed you in the past:
Even though he had lost the court case, he had shown no rancour.
▪ spleen formal anger, especially anger that is unreasonable:
He vented his spleen (=said why he was angry) against the airline in an article in the Times.
■ extreme anger
▪ fury a very strong feeling of anger:
The judge sparked fury when he freed a man who had attacked three women.
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The decision caused fury among local people.
▪ rage a very strong feeling of anger that is difficult to control or is expressed very suddenly or violently:
When we accused him of lying, he flew into a rage (=became very angry very suddenly) .
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Brown killed his wife in a jealous rage.
▪ outrage extreme anger and shock because you think something is unfair or wrong:
The racist comments caused outrage in India and Britain.
▪ wrath formal extreme anger:
Pietersen was the next to incur the wrath of the referee (=make him angry) .
II. anger 2 BrE AmE verb [transitive]
[ Word Family: verb : ↑ anger ; noun : ↑ anger ; adverb : ↑ angrily ; adjective : ↑ angry ]
to make someone angry SYN annoy :
What angered me most was his total lack of remorse.
be angered by/at something
Environmental groups were disappointed and angered by the president’s decision.
REGISTER
In everyday English, people usually say something makes them angry rather than say that it angers them :
▪ I didn’t want to anger him. ➔ I didn’t want to make him angry.