noun
ire
eye-uh
noun
1
Intense anger; wrath, especially the kind provoked by a specific offense.
"The tax hike drew the ire of small business owners."
"He tried not to show his ire during the meeting."
How to Use Ire
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA formal, slightly literary word for anger or wrath.
When to use it
Mostly used in writing and news reporting ("drew the ire of") rather than everyday speech.
Common pairings
draw someone's ire
incur ire
public ire
Word Forms
ired past tense, ires singular
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The tax hike drew the _____ of small business owners.
Etymology
From Old English īre, ultimately a shortened form of īren ("iron") in an earlier sense; the modern "anger" sense comes via Latin īra through French.