wrathful

adjective

wrath·​ful ˈrath-fəl 

 chiefly British  ˈrȯth-

1

: filled with wrath : irate

2

: arising from, marked by, or indicative of wrath

wrathfully

ˈrath-fə-lē 

 chiefly British  ˈrȯth-

adverb

wrathfulness noun

Synonyms

• angered
• angry
• apoplectic
• ballistic
• cheesed off [chiefly British]
• choleric
• enraged
• foaming
• fuming
• furious
• hopping
• horn-mad
• hot
• incensed
• indignant
• inflamed
• enflamed
• infuriate
• infuriated
• irate
• ireful
• livid
• mad
• outraged
• rabid
• rankled
• riled
• riley
• roiled
• shirty [chiefly British]
• sore
• steamed up
• steaming
• teed off
• ticked
• wroth

Examples of wrathful in a Sentence

in a wrathful voice she demanded to know what had happened

Recent Examples on the Web

Neither director Alex Proyas nor screenwriters David J. Schow and John Shirley skimp on the visual or narrative accoutrements needed to make this film feel alternately melancholy and wrathful. —Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 13 Aug. 2024

Watch No Exit on Hulu 22 of 30 No One Will Save You Brynn (Kaitlyn Dever) is satisfied with living a solitary life in her childhood home, until her residence is intruded by wrathful extraterrestrials. —Lia Beck, People.com, 25 Oct. 2024

These concessions might make Hamas even stronger, however, and a wrathful Israel is less likely than ever to be willing to take such chances. —Daniel Byman, Foreign Affairs, 7 Oct. 2023

The New York judge presiding over one of Donald J. Trump’s criminal trials imposed a gag order on Tuesday that prohibits him from attacking witnesses, prosecutors and jurors, the latest effort to rein in the former president’s wrathful rhetoric about his legal opponents. —William K. Rashbaum, New York Times, 26 Mar. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

wrathful

adjective

wrath·​ful ˈrath-fəl 

1

: filled with wrath : very angry

2

: showing wrath

a wrathful expression

wrathfully

-fə-lē 

adverb

wrathfulness noun