What does angered mean?
'Angered' is the past tense and past participle of the verb 'anger', which means to provoke feelings of strong displeasure or hostility in someone. When we say that a decision, remark, or action 'angered' a person or group, we indicate that it stirred genuine resentment rather than mere annoyance. The word most often appears in passive constructions such as 'residents were angered by the proposed development', or in accounts of public reaction, where it signals that offense has been taken seriously. In terms of emotional intensity, being angered sits above being irritated or annoyed but below being enraged or furious, making it a useful middle term for describing real but controlled indignation. The underlying word 'anger' has an interesting history: it entered English from Old Norse, where 'angr' denoted distress or sorrow, and scholars have long connected it to the Latin root 'angere', the source of words like anguish and anxious. Whether describing personal slights or collective outrage, 'angered' remains a precise and widely understood way to express that tempers have been genuinely roused.
verb (past tense and past participle of 'anger')The past tense and past participle of the verb 'anger', meaning to have made someone feel angry or to have provoked feelings of strong displeasure.
- To have made someone angry; to have provoked anger in a person (e.g. 'His remarks angered the audience').
- To be in a state of having been made angry (as past participle, e.g. 'She left, angered by the delay').
"The committee was angered by the company's refusal to disclose its financial records."
"The workers were angered by the sudden announcement of pay cuts."
"He angered his colleagues by arriving late to every meeting."
The word 'anger' likely sailed into English with the Vikings — it traces back to Old Norse 'angr', meaning distress or sorrow.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of angered
The verb 'anger' derives from the noun 'anger', which came into Middle English from Old Norse 'angr', meaning grief, distress, or affliction, reflecting the Scandinavian influence on English after the Viking settlements. Many scholars connect this Germanic word to the Indo-European root behind Latin 'angere', meaning to choke or squeeze tightly, which also produced 'anguish' and 'anxious'. The verb form developed in English by the late medieval period, and 'angered' emerged naturally as its past tense and past participle.
Related word forms
How angered is actually used
'Angered' typically appears as a passive construction ('was angered by') or in perfect tenses ('had angered'). It carries a connotation of genuine, often justified displeasure rather than mild irritation, placing it between 'annoyed' and 'furious' in intensity.
Easily confused with angered
'Angered' describes the act or state of provoking or feeling anger, while 'anguish' refers to severe mental or emotional suffering, a far more intense distress.