What does wrate mean?
Wrate is a Scots adjective meaning angry or irritated. Its use makes the dialect immediately visible, so it is best understood as a regional equivalent of Standard English angry rather than as a general synonym usable in every context. In writing for a broad audience, writers will usually choose angry, furious, or irate instead, reserving wrate for dialogue, dialect quotation, or deliberately Scottish prose. Wrate has an interesting history within the English word family: it is the Scots form of Middle English wrathe, an older word behind Modern English wrath. It therefore preserves a pronunciation and spelling that other English varieties have largely standardized differently. Although uncommon outside Scotland, it remains a useful reminder that Standard English vocabulary often conceals regional alternatives once used much more widely. It can be especially effective in fiction and historical writing, where an authentic regional term adds character without changing the basic meaning.
adjectiveAngry or irritated. In Standard English, angry is the usual equivalent.
- Scots: angry or irritated.
"The wrate farmer refused to speak to us."
"She became wrate when she discovered that nobody had repaired the broken fence."
"His wavering voice revealed that even the wrate young man was nervous about speaking."
Wrate is Scots for angry—a regional survivor of the word that became Standard English wrath.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of wrate
Wrate is the Scots form of Middle English wrathe, meaning angry, and ultimately descends from the Old English adjective wræþ. English developed several related forms with different grammatical functions, including the modern noun wrath and the archaic adjective wroth. The Scots form preserves the pronunciation and consonant of the earlier Middle English word.
How wrate is actually used
This is specifically a Scottish word. In writing intended for a general audience, angry, furious, or irate will usually be more appropriate.
Easily confused with wrate
Write means to record words in writing, whereas wrate is a Scots adjective meaning angry.