Meanings
comparative more wroth · superlative most wroth
- archaicformalFull of anger; wrathful.
You behold, Sir, how he waxeth Wroth at your Abode here.
1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume II, London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, page 2895 more examples
But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 4:5And to be wroth with one we love, / Doth work like madness in the brain.
1816, S[amuel] T[aylor] Coleridge, “(please specify the page)”, in Christabel: Kubla Khan, a Vision: The Pains of Sleep, London: […] John Murray, […], by William Bulmer and Co. […], →OCLCBut in the meantime Robin Hood and his band lived quietly in Sherwood Forest, without showing their faces abroad, for Robin knew that it would not be wise for him to be seen in the neighborhood of Nottingham, those in authority being very wroth with him.
1883, Howard Pyle, chapter V, in The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood […], New York, N.Y.: […] Charles Scribner’s Sons […], →OCLCAt this Sir Launcelot was very wroth; for he could not abide seeing a fellow-knight of the Round Table treated with such disregard as that which Sir Gaheris suffered at the hands of Sir Turquine; […]
1905, Howard Pyle, The Story of the Champions of the Round Table, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, page 48Business men are learning that it pays to be friendly to strikers. For example, when two thousand five hundred employees in the White Motor Company's plant struck for higher wages and a union shop, Robert F. Black, the president, didn't wax wroth and condemn, and threaten and talk of tyranny and Communists. He actually praised the strikers. He published an advertisement in the Cleveland papers, complimenting them on "the peaceful way in which they laid down their tools."
1936, Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends and Influence People, Part 3, Chapter 4Synonyms: wrath
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveFull of anger; wrathful.
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*wreyt-“to turn”
- Proto-Germanic*wraiþaz“cruel”
- Old Englishwrāþ
- Middle Englishwroth, wrooth
- Englishwroth
From Middle English wroth, wrooth, from Old English wrāþ, from Proto-Germanic *wraiþaz (“cruel”), from Proto-Indo-European *wreyt- (“to turn”). Akin to Saterland Frisian wreed (“haughty; proud”), Old Saxon wrēd (“evil”) (Dutch wreed (“cruel”)), Old High German reid (“cruel”), Old Norse reiðr (“angry”) (Danish vred, Swedish vred).
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-Germanic
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian гневен, разгневен
- гневен (gneven)full of anger
- разгневен (razgneven)full of anger
- яден (jaden)full of anger
- ядовит (jadovit)full of anger
French courroucé
- courroucéfull of anger
German erzürnt, zornig
- erzürntfull of anger
- zornigfull of anger
Icelandic reiður
- reiðurfull of anger
Japanese 激怒した
- 激怒した (gekido shita)full of anger
Polish gniewny
- gniewnyfull of anger
Russian разгне́ванный, гне́вный
- разгне́ванный (razgnévannyj)full of anger
- гне́вный (gnévnyj)full of anger
Spanish airado, colérico
- airadofull of anger
- coléricofull of anger
- torvofull of anger
Swedish vred, bister
- vredfull of anger
- bisterfull of anger
- gramfull of anger
- gramsefull of anger
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with wroth
Sounds the same
Anagrams
Cite this entry
wroth. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wroth
“wroth.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wroth. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “wroth,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wroth.
Source: wroth on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.