seethe

1 of 2

verb

ˈsēṯẖ 

seethed; seething

intransitive verb

1

: to suffer violent internal excitement

seethe with jealousy

2

a

: to be in a state of rapid agitated movement

b

: to churn or foam as if boiling

3

archaic : boil

transitive verb

1

: to soak or saturate in a liquid

2

archaic : boil, stew

seethe

2 of 2

noun

: a state of seething : ebullition

Synonyms

Verb

• boil
• churn
• moil
• roil

Examples of seethe in a Sentence

Verb

He seethed at his brother's success.

We found ourselves in the middle of a seething crowd.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Alabama’s out, the SEC is seething and major changes are coming to the CFP as a result. —Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 8 Dec. 2024

The work begins with soft, airy slipping, the sense of something quietly seething and forming. —Zachary Woolfe, New York Times, 24 Nov. 2024

Noun

Mannequin Pussy’s album seethes and howls with desire: desire for love, connection, control; desire to be human; desire to be a dog; desire for desire itself. —Pitchfork, 3 Dec. 2024

Not ambition to succeed on the world’s terms (though that asserted its own maddening static) but ambition to find forms for the seethe of rage, remembrance, and wild vitality that seemed, unaccountably, like sound inside me, demanding language but prelinguistic, somehow. —Harper's Magazine, 25 June 2024

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English sethen, from Old English sēothan; akin to Old High German siodan to seethe and probably to Old Lithuanian siausti (it) storms, rages

First Known Use

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 2

Noun

1816, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

seethe

verb

ˈsēt͟h

seethed; seething

1

: to churn or foam as if boiling

the river rapids seethed

2

: to be upset or in a state of great excitement

was seething with rage