Infuriate
/ɪnˈfjʊriˌeɪt/
verbB2
Definition
Infuriate means to cause a strong feeling of anger in someone. When something or someone infuriates you, it makes you lose your calm and feel very upset or annoyed. It is stronger than just being irritated or annoyed.
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See It in Action
To cause someone to become very angry
- •His rude comments infuriated everyone at the meeting.
- •The slow service at the restaurant infuriated the customers.
- •She was infuriated by the unfair decision of the judge.
Make It Stick
- ✓Think of "infuriate" like "make angry," but much stronger—like turning a small fire into a big, fast-burning fire
- ✓Picture a person’s face turning red and their fists clenching because they are very angry
- ✓It’s the feeling you get when something unfair or very frustrating happens to you suddenly
- ✓Sounds like "in-FURY-ate" → imagine putting someone inside a box full of fury (strong anger) that grows bigger and bigger
- ✓Think of a story where a character’s patience breaks and they shout loudly because they are infuriated
- ✓NOT like "annoy" (small, easy to ignore), "infuriate" means strong anger that is hard to control
- ✓NOT like "anger" itself (a feeling inside), "infuriate" means something causes that anger from outside
Try Other Words
- •Enrage: to make very angry (Use when the anger is even more extreme or violent)
- •Anger: to cause someone to feel upset or mad (Use in more general or less strong situations)
- •Annoy: to make someone slightly angry or bothered (Use when the feeling is less strong)
Unboxing
- •Prefix "in-" means "into" or "cause to"
- •Root "furi-" comes from Latin "furia," meaning "rage" or "fury" (strong anger)
- •Suffix "-ate" is used to make verbs meaning "to cause or make"
- •Origin: From Latin "infuriatus," past participle of "infuriare," meaning "to enrage"
- •First used in English in the 1600s to mean causing great anger or rage
- •Today, it is used to describe something or someone that causes strong anger in others
Reflect & Connect
•Can you think of a time when something small infuriated you? Why did it feel so strong?
•How is infuriation different from just being annoyed or upset in your daily life?
Fill in the blanks
1.The customer was infuriated ___ the long wait and poor service at the store.
2.His careless mistake infuriated his teacher because it showed a lack of effort, not just a small ___.
3.When the team lost unfairly, the fans were infuriated and ___ loudly in the stadium.
4.Unlike being annoyed, to infuriate someone means to cause ___ anger that is hard to calm down.
5.She tried not to get infuriated, but the repeated delays made her ___ lose patience.
6.The politician’s lies infuriated many people, causing them to ___ protests.
7.The word "infuriate" sounds like "in fury," which helps us remember it means to ___ someone with strong anger.