Meaning & use
angry
Last updated
Meaning
adjectivecomparable
Feeling strong displeasure or hostility, often from frustration or hurt.
Grammar: Common frames are angry with/at a person and angry about a situation; compare angrier and angriest.
Patterns
- angry with someone
- angry at someone
- angry about something
- get or grow angry
The customer was angry about the delay.
Do not be angry with the messenger.
He grew angry when the joke continued.
Word forms
| comparative | angrier |
|---|---|
| superlative | angriest |
Common combinations
- angry with someone
- She was angry with her brother for borrowing the bike.
- angry about something
- Residents are angry about the new road fees.
- get angry
- He rarely gets angry during meetings.
- angry letter
- The newspaper printed an angry letter from a parent.
Synonyms and how they differ
- furious
- Furious is much stronger than angry, suggesting near loss of control.
- irritated
- Irritated is milder, closer to annoyed; angry suggests stronger displeasure.
- mad
- Mad is informal and common in American English; in British English it can mean crazy.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: angry or hungry? angry or mad?
angry vs hungry
Hungry means needing food; angry means feeling strong displeasure.
angry vs mad
In American English mad often means angry; in British English it more often means insane.
Practice
He wasn't angry ___ his sister; he was upset ___ the broken plan.
Choose one answer.
The natural pattern is angry with a person and angry about a situation. About/with reverses the usual targets, and to/about or for/on are not standard anger prepositions.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “angry”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.