wrath
/ɹæθ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.70 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
1
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Punishment, retribution, or vengeance resulting from anger; (countable) an instance of this.
Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "Homer relates an episode in the Trojan War that reveals the tragic consequences of the wrath of Achilles."
- "Let all bitternes, fearſnes and wrath, rorynge and curſyd ſpeakynge, be put awaye from you, with all maliciouſnes."
- "Thou barrein ground, whome winters wrath hath waſted, Art made a myrrhour, to behold my plight: […]"
- "I tel you true my hart is ſwolne with wrath, On this ſame theeuiſh villain Tamburlain."
- "[H]im ſo far had borne his light-foot ſteede, Pricked vvith vvrath and fiery fierce diſdaine, That him to follovv vvas but fruitleſſe paine; […]"
- "VVho (in my vvrath) Kneel'd and^([sic – meaning at]) my feet, and bid me be aduis'd?"
Etymology
The noun is derived from Middle English wratthe (“anger, hostility, distress retribution”) [and other forms], from Old English wrǣþþu (“ire, wrath”) [and other forms], from Proto-West Germanic *wraiþiþu (“anger, fury, wrath”), from *wraiþ (“angry, furious, wroth; hostile, violent; bent, twisted”) (from Proto-Germanic *wraiþaz (“angry, furious, wroth; hostile, violent; bent, twisted”), from Proto-Indo-European *wreyt- (“to twist”)) + *-iþu (suffix forming abstract nouns). Effectively analysable as wroth + -th (abstract nominal suffix); compare Dutch wreedte. The verb is derived from Middle English wratthen (“to be or become angry, to rage; to quarrel; to cause wrath, offend; to become troubled or vexed; to cause grief or harm, grieve, vex”) [and other forms], from wratthe, wretthe (noun) (see above) + -en (suffix forming the infinitive of verbs).
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ɹæθ/
- British English: /ɹɒθ/
Usage
Inflected Forms
wraths (plural)
wraths (present, singular)
wrathing (participle, present)
wrathed (participle, past)
wrathed (past)
no-table-tags (table tags)
glossary (inflection template)
wrathed (first person, past)
wrathest (archaic, present)
wrathed (past, second person)
wrathedst (archaic, past)
wratheth (archaic, present)