infuriate
C1Formal to Neutral
Definition
Meaning
to make (someone) extremely angry; to enrage.
To provoke intense frustration or rage, often by actions perceived as unjust, stupid, or deliberately obstructive.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
Primarily used as a transitive verb. Its emotional intensity is high, suggesting a deep, burning anger rather than a fleeting annoyance. The cause is typically a specific, often repeated, action or situation.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant difference in meaning or grammatical use. Spelling remains consistent. The participial adjective 'infuriating' is equally common in both varieties.
Connotations
Slightly more formal in British English, but widely used in both. In American media, it may appear more frequently in political or social commentary.
Frequency
More frequent in written English (news, commentary) than in casual spoken conversation in both varieties.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
[NP] infuriate [NP]It infuriates [NP] that-clauseFind [NP] infuriatingVocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “Driving me to distraction”
- “Make my blood boil”
- “See red”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Used to describe stakeholder or customer reaction to poor service or policy changes. 'The new compliance paperwork will infuriate our clients.'
Academic
Used in political science, history, or sociology to describe public or group sentiment. 'The treaty's terms infuriated the nationalist factions.'
Everyday
Describing personal frustration with bureaucracy, technology, or inconsiderate behaviour. 'His constant lateness infuriates me.'
Technical
Rare in hard sciences; possible in user experience (UX) design to describe user frustration with an interface.
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- The government's dithering on the issue continues to infuriate voters.
- She knew that bringing up the subject would infuriate her brother.
American English
- His arrogant comments during the debate infuriated a lot of people.
- It infuriates me that the company won't take responsibility.
adverb
British English
- He smiled infuriatingly, knowing he had won the argument.
- The computer failed again, infuriatingly close to the deadline.
American English
- She was infuriatingly calm during the entire crisis.
- The instructions were infuriatingly vague.
adjective
British English
- His infuriating habit of interrupting made the meeting unbearable.
- The whole situation was utterly infuriating.
American English
- The infuriating traffic delay made her miss her appointment.
- I find his lack of attention to detail infuriating.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- Loud noises infuriate my dad.
- The slow computer is infuriating!
- It infuriates me when people are rude to waiters.
- I find his constant jokes infuriating.
- The minister's evasive answer served only to infuriate the journalists further.
- Her infuriating tendency to be right all the time strained their friendship.
- The committee's obtuse refusal to acknowledge the evidence was both baffling and infuriating.
- Politicians who blatantly disregard scientific consensus genuinely infuriate the educated electorate.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of a furious bull (FURI- like 'furious') being provoked INSIDE (IN-). Something gets INside you and makes you FURIously angry.
Conceptual Metaphor
ANGER IS HEAT/A FIRE (e.g., 'burning with rage', 'hot under the collar'). 'Infuriate' implies igniting or intensifying that internal fire.
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Не путать с 'раздражать' (irritate) – 'infuriate' сильнее.
- Не является прямым эквивалентом 'бесить' (сленг), который менее формален.
- Прилагательное 'infuriating' чаще переводится как 'выводящий из себя', 'невыносимо раздражающий'.
Common Mistakes
- Incorrect: 'I infuriate with him.' Correct: 'He infuriates me.' OR 'I am infuriated with him.'
- Incorrect: 'It's very infuriate.' Correct: 'It's very infuriating.'
- Overuse in mild contexts where 'annoy' or 'bother' would be more appropriate.
Practice
Quiz
Which sentence uses 'infuriate' correctly?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
It occupies a middle ground. It is standard and acceptable in formal writing, but its high emotional charge makes it less common in ultra-formal legal or scientific texts where neutral language is preferred.
'Infuriate' is stronger and more intense than 'anger'. To anger someone is to make them mad; to infuriate them is to make them intensely, often uncontrollably, angry. 'Infuriate' also often implies a specific, provoking cause.
No, the verb form is 'infuriate'. The related adjective is 'infuriating'. The past participle 'infuriated' can be used as an adjective (e.g., 'an infuriated crowd').
Both prepositions are used, often interchangeably. However, 'infuriated by' is more common for the direct cause (infuriated by his lie), while 'infuriated at' can be used for a situation or person (infuriated at the injustice/infuriated at him).