irate

adjective

ī-ˈrāt How to pronounce irate (audio)
ˈī-ˌrāt, 
i-ˈrāt
Synonyms of irate
1
: roused to ire
an irate taxpayer
2
: arising from anger
irate words
irately adverb
irateness noun

Synonyms of irate

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of irate in a Sentence

Irate viewers called the television network to complain about the show. the big increase in cable rates prompted a flood of irate calls and letters
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Celebrities in superyachts sail into Venice this week for the three-day wedding party of Amazon tycoon Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez, despite irate locals who say the UNESCO city is no billionaire's playground. — Darren Cooper, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026 Customers were irate and expressed outrage by filing complaints with the Federal Communications Commission and a class action lawsuit. — Jon Brodkin, ArsTechnica, 16 July 2026 Los Angeles city leaders and representatives from Lineage heard the complaints from irate residents at the meeting. — Julie Sharp, CBS News, 13 July 2026 The three officials struggled to speak over the irate audience. — Los Angeles Times, 11 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for irate

Word History

First Known Use

1838, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of irate was in 1838

Rhymes for irate

See All Rhymes for irate

Browse Nearby Words

irascibly
irate
irately
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Irate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/irate. Accessed 8 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

irate

adjective
ī-ˈrāt How to pronounce irate (audio)
: angry sense 1a
irately adverb
irateness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on irate

Nglish: Translation of irate for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of nurture

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

'Sneaked' or 'Snuck': Which is correct?

Why does English have so many silent letters?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Aug. 7

How long is a jiffy?
See More

Popular

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
fridge-magnet-letters
Drop a Letter Quiz August 2026 Drop a letter from a word to make a totally diffe...
See All