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as in shrew
a bad-tempered scolding woman tradition has it that Socrates' wife was such a fury that the philosopher's death sentence by the authorities was not an entirely unwelcome fate

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Synonym Chooser

How does the noun fury differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of fury are anger, indignation, ire, rage, and wrath. While all these words mean "an intense emotional state induced by displeasure," rage and fury suggest loss of self-control from violence of emotion.

shook with rage
could not contain his fury

When might anger be a better fit than fury?

The synonyms anger and fury are sometimes interchangeable, but anger, the most general term, names the reaction but by itself does not convey cause or intensity.

tried to hide his anger

In what contexts can indignation take the place of fury?

The words indignation and fury are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, indignation stresses righteous anger at what one considers unfair, mean, or shameful.

a comment that caused general indignation

When is it sensible to use ire instead of fury?

The meanings of ire and fury largely overlap; however, ire, more frequent in literary contexts, suggests an intense anger, often with an evident display of feeling.

cheeks flushed with ire

When would wrath be a good substitute for fury?

In some situations, the words wrath and fury are roughly equivalent. However, wrath is likely to suggest a desire or intent to punish or get revenge.

I feared her wrath if I was discovered

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of fury That funding freeze has resulted in at least 180 job cuts so far, but perceived efforts to curry favor with Trump are producing fury among the student population. Lexi Lonas Cochran, The Hill, 15 May 2025 His son Femi has been carrying his dad’s unique hybrid of funk and jazz forward with righteous fury and grace for decades. Jed Gottlieb, Boston Herald, 11 May 2025 Future In Focus Shareholder fury: Max and Jake have been sniffing out what could happen to ITV, the UK broadcaster/producer whose future has been the subject of international gossip for quite some time now. Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 16 May 2025 That fury gained public visibility after UnitedHealthcare's top executive, Brian Thompson, was shot and killed on a Manhattan street in December. Maria Aspan, NPR, 16 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for fury
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fury
Noun
  • The researchers went through hundreds of rodent and shrew carcasses to look for mpox infections and found one: the carcass of a squirrel that had died less than three months before the outbreak started.
    Lillian Ali, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Apr. 2025
  • While native mammals span from the endemic Cretan lesser white-toothed shrew to the Blasius’s horseshoe bat, the preserve is perhaps best known for its high concentration of Cretan goats, a type of ruminant that serves as the official mascot of the park.
    Jared Ranahan, Forbes, 3 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • In Game 1 alone, Haliburton hit a game-tying shot at the end of regulation, sending the New York crowd into a stunned frenzy.
    Matt Levine, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 June 2025
  • The present crypto frenzy is sucking up all of the financial oxygen.
    Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 28 May 2025
Noun
  • Law enforcement officials believe the man, Ramon Morales Reyes, never wrote a letter that Noem and her department shared with a message written in light blue ink expressing anger over Trump’s deportations and threatening to shoot him in the head with a rifle at a rally.
    Mike Balsamo, Los Angeles Times, 2 June 2025
  • Law enforcement officials believe the man, Ramon Morales Reyes, never wrote a letter that Noem and her department shared with a message written in light blue ink expressing anger over Trump's deportations and threatening to shoot him in the head with a rifle at a rally.
    Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 1 June 2025
Noun
  • The public rift between Musk and Trump began in earnest with Musk's rampage against the president's domestic megabill.
    Alexandra Hutzler, ABC News, 5 June 2025
  • As the county’s deadliest mass shooting, the rampage also raised questions about whether Wagstaffe would seek to execute the man believed responsible for it.
    Jakob Rodgers, Mercury News, 4 June 2025
Noun
  • As the film progresses, this wide-eyed curiosity shifts to righteous indignation, but these reactions are muddled by her feelings for Basem.
    Hannah Giorgis, The Atlantic, 11 Apr. 2025
  • But there’s vulnerability buried in that sort of indignation.
    Amanda Petrusich, New Yorker, 16 May 2025
Noun
  • For Karen’s author, such rage was a real departure.
    Lily Meyer, The Atlantic, 3 June 2025
  • Conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza rage on, the U.S. national debt grows, and President Donald Trump’s trade policies continue to jolt adversaries and allies alike.
    Hugh Son, CNBC, 30 May 2025
Noun
  • Does that mean the nine California Republicans, all of whom voted last month for the tax and spending bill, could face his political wrath?
    David Lightman, Sacbee.com, 5 June 2025
  • More to Read Voices Contributor: Once, international students feared Beijing’s wrath.
    Daniel Miller, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2025
Noun
  • In addition, a customer usually won’t know how much of the code was written using AI, so there won’t be any public outrage, as is the case with self-driving cars.
    Victor Erukhimov, Forbes.com, 23 May 2025
  • Access to care Over the past year, the insurance industry has come under strong criticism, and two measures in the bill attempt to rein in some of the practices that have elicited the most public outrage.
    Katy Golvala, Hartford Courant, 23 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Fury.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fury. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.

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