wrath
UK/ɹɒθ/
More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations
British/ɹɔθ/
wrath noun: great anger; (countable) an instance of this.
Noun
wrath (usually uncountable, plural wraths)
- Great anger; (countable) an instance of this.
- Homer relates an episode in the Trojan War that reveals the tragic consequences of the wrath of Achilles.
- Let all bitternes, fearſnes and wrath, rorynge and curſyd ſpeakynge, be put awaye from you, with all maliciouſnes.1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, Ephesians iiij:[31], folios cclvij, recto – cclvij, verso
- Synonyms:
- fury, ire, bile, choler, dander, displeasure, dudgeon, gall, grudge, indignation
- Punishment, retribution, or vengeance resulting from anger; (countable) an instance of this.
- the wrath of God
- […] I [i.e., God] gaue the [thee] a kinge in my wrath, and in my diſpleaſure will I take him from the agayne.1535 October 14 (Gregorian calendar), Myles Coverdale, transl., Biblia: The Byble, […] (Coverdale Bible), [Cologne or Marburg]: [Eucharius Cervicornus and Johannes Soter?], →OCLC, Eseas [Hosea]...
- Great ardour or passion.
- [T]hey are in the verie vvrath of loue, and they vvill together. Clubbes cannot part them.c. 1598–1600 (date written), William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
- [I]f you hold your life at any price, betake you to your gard: for your oppoſite hath in him vvhat youth, ſtrength, skill, and vvrath, can furniſh man vvithall.c. 1601–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Twelfe Night, or What You Will”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and...
Verb
wrath (third-person singular simple present wraths, present participle wrathing, simple past and past participle wrathed)
- To anger (someone); to enrage.
- [R]emembre howe by thy cursed synnes thou haste offended and wrathed thy lorde god.[1506?], Jacobus van Gruitroede, translated by [Margaret Beaufort], The Mirroure of Golde for the Synfull Soule, London: […] Richarde Pynson, →OCLC, folio 12, verso
- Of ire yͤ whiche is agayne god. […] A man wratheth hym ayenst god for many thynges, pryncypally for the flagellacions, aduersytees, fortunes, sykenesses, & mortalytees, losses, punycyons, famyne, warre & yll tyme.1510 September 24 (Gregorian calendar), [Andrew Chertsey], transl., Ihesus. The Floure of the Commaundements of God […], London: […] Wynkyn de Worde, →OCLC, folio 60, recto
- To become angry with (someone).
- To become angry.
- "Nay, wrath thee not, Will," said Ganlesse; "and speak no words in haste, lest you may have cause to repent at leisure.[…]"1822, [Walter Scott], chapter X, in Peveril of the Peak. […], volume II, Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co., →OCLC, page 267
- God is a righteous judge, strong and patient, and God wratheth every day.1860, E[dward] B[ouverie] Pusey, “Nahum”, in The Minor Prophets with a Commentary Explanatory and Practical and Introductions to the Several Books (The Holy Bible with a Commentary […]), Oxford...
Adjective
wrath (comparative more wrath, superlative most wrath)
- Synonym of wroth (“full of anger; wrathful”).
- Take heede the Queene come not vvithin his ſight,
For Oberon is paſſing fell and vvrath:
Becauſe that ſhe, as her attendant, hath
A louely boy ſtollen, from an Indian king:
She neuer had ſo ſvveete a changeling.c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, A Midsommer Nights Dreame. […] (First Quarto), London: […] [Richard Bradock] for Thomas Fisher, […], published 1600, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]... - VVhereat the Prince full vvrath, his ſtrong right hand
In full auengement heaued vp on hie,
And ſtroke the Pagan vvith his ſteely brand
So ſore, that to his ſaddle bovv thereby
He bovved lovv, and ſo a vvhile did lie: […]1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book IV, Canto VIII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], part II (books IV–VI), London: […] [Richard Field] for William Ponsonby, →OCLC, stanza 43, page 120
- Synonyms:
- wroth
- Take heede the Queene come not vvithin his ſight,
wrath meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali
wrath in Hindi
- great anger; an instance of this
- प्रकोप prakop, ग़ज़ब ġazab, ग़ुस्सा ġussā, क्रोध krodh, क़हर qahar, रोष roṣ
- punishment, retribution, or vengeance resulting from anger; an instance of this.
- प्रकोप prakop
wrath in Tamil
- உளக்கொதிப்பு, சீற்றம், கடுங்கோபம், வெகுளி
wrath in Urdu
- great anger; an instance of this
- غَیظ ġaiz, غَضَب ġazab, قَہْر qahr, طَیش taiś, خَشْم xaśm
wrath in Bengali
- ক্রোধ, তীব্র রাগ
More languagesFewer languages
- wrath in Malayalam
- ക്രോധം krōdhaṁ
- wrath in Kannada
- ತಿಳಿ tiḷi, ಹೇವ hēva
- wrath in Sanskrit
- क्रोध krodha, रोष roṣa
- wrath in Pashto
- غيظ ǧayz, غضب ǧazab, قهر qahr, خشم xašm
- wrath in Arabic
- غَضَب ḡaḍab, غَيْظ ḡayẓ, قَهْر qahr, سَخَط saḵaṭ
- wrath in Malay
- kemarahan, kemurkaan
- wrath in Indonesian
- murka
- wrath in Persian
- غضب ġazab, غیظ ġeyz, قهر qahr, طیش teyš
- wrath in Thai
- ความโกรธ kwaam-gròot, ความโกรธเคือง kwaam-gròot-kʉʉang, โทสะ too-sà, วิโรธ wí-rôot
- wrath in Vietnamese
- cơn tức giận, thịnh nộ
- wrath in Myanmar
- အမျက် a.myak, ပဋိဃာတ် pa.ti.ghat
Examples of wrath in a sentence
- His chafing, bleeding temper is one raw; his whole soul one rage, and wrath, and fever.1861 January – 1862 August, W[illiam] M[akepeace] Thackeray, “I Charge You, Drop Your Daggers!”, in The Adventures of Philip on His Way...
- We come in charity and good will, but we may go in wrath.1882, Ouida [pseudonym; Maria Louise Ramé], chapter XII, in In Maremma […], volume I, London: Chatto & Windus, […], →OCLC, page 243:
- [H]e is the miniſter of God, a reuenger to execute wrath vpon him that doeth euill.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Romans 13:4, column 2:
- Lovel, seldom angry, was violently wrath with his brother-in-law; and, almost always polite, was at breakfast scarcely civil to Lady Baker.1860 January–June, W[illiam] M[akepeace] Thackeray, “A Black Sheep”, in Lovel the Widower, London: Smith, Elder and Co., […], published...
Synonyms of wrath
Forms of wrath
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | wraths |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | wraths |
| present participle | wrathing |
| past participle | wrathed |
| past | wrathed |
| second-person singular present (archaic) | wrathest |
| second-person singular past (archaic) | wrathedst |
| third-person singular present (archaic) | wratheth |
| Adjective | |
| comparative | more wrath |
| superlative | most wrath |
Origin of wrath
The noun is derived from Middle English wratthe (“anger, hostility, distress retribution”) [and other forms], from Old English wrǣþþu (“ire, wrath”) [and other forms], from Proto-West Germanic *wraiþiþu (“anger, fury, wrath”), from *wraiþ (“angry, furious, wroth; hostile, violent; bent, twisted”) (from Proto-Germanic *wraiþaz (“angry, furious, wroth; hostile, violent; bent, twisted”), from Proto-Indo-European *wreyt- (“to twist”)) + *-iþu (suffix forming abstract nouns). Effectively analysable as wroth + -th (abstract nominal suffix); compare Dutch wreedte. The verb is derived from Middle English wratthen (“to be or become angry, to rage; to quarrel; to cause wrath, offend; to become troubled or vexed; to cause grief or harm, grieve, vex”) [and other forms], from wratthe, wretthe (noun) (see above) + -en (suffix forming the infinitive of verbs).
A variant of wroth, probably influenced by wrath (noun) (see etymology 1).
Words formed from wrath
Phrases with wrath
Words that rhyme with wrath
Questions about wrath
- What does wrath mean?
- Wrath means great anger; (countable) an instance of this.
- What is wrath in Hindi?
- Wrath in Hindi is प्रकोप (prakop), ग़ज़ब (ġazab), ग़ुस्सा (ġussā). See Wrath meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use wrath in a sentence?
- His chafing, bleeding temper is one raw; his whole soul one rage, and wrath, and fever.
- What part of speech is wrath?
- Wrath can be a noun, a verb or an adjective.
- How do you pronounce wrath?
- Wrath is pronounced /ɹɒθ/ (UK).
- What is the plural of wrath?
- The plural of wrath is wraths.
Words near wrath in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: wrath (page history and authors); wrath (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); wrath (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ತಿಳಿ (Kannada) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-wrath.ogg.
Cite this entry: “wrath.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/wrath. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.