to burst a blood vessel
- idiom
- Informal
:
explotar de ira
- She burst a blood vessel when she heard the news.
Examples
-
She almost burst a blood vessel when she heard the news.
-
Try not to burst a blood vessel over things you can't control.
-
Don't burst a blood vessel—it's just a game.
-
Don't burst a blood vessel over this!
-
Don't burst a blood vessel—it's just a game.
-
She almost burst a blood vessel when she heard the news.
-
Try not to burst a blood vessel over things you can't control.
Synonyms
187
3.5
To suddenly show a strong feeling, often anger
123
4.2
To suddenly start in a strong or violent way, often showing strong feeling
114
5.5
To become very angry or excited
23
4.7
To become suddenly stronger or worse, often for a short time
22
7.5
Suddenly become very angry
18
4.4
To show sudden strong anger or upset, often like a child
16
4.7
To suddenly become very angry and lose control
16
5.3
To suddenly become very angry or upset and show it strongly
12
6.1
To suddenly become very angry or upset in a loud, obvious way
11
6.8
To suddenly become very angry
10
6.8
To become very angry suddenly
7
5.3
To suddenly get very angry without warning
7
4.8
To suddenly lose control and show strong anger
5
8.1
To show very strong anger or excitement in a way people can see
4
6.7
To suddenly become very angry
4
8.2
To become suddenly very angry and lose control
3
6.8
To suddenly get very angry
2
4.7
To be so full of strong feeling or excitement that you show it clearly
2
3.7
To suddenly become very angry and not be able to control yourself
2
8.6
Suddenly get very angry and show it
1
7.4
To suddenly become very angry
1
8.1
To suddenly say something angry without warning
1
9.9
To suddenly get very angry and speak loudly for a long time
To become suddenly very angry and upset in a dramatic way
To suddenly become very angry
Antonyms
How Angry
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase combines the literal meanings of 'burst' and 'blood vessel' to evoke a dramatic physiological rupture, a metaphor readily mapped onto extreme anger or stress; this makes the intended sense predictable from the constituents. However it is still a metaphoric idiom rather than a literal, compositional motion or action, so learners need to make a figurative inference rather than a direct compositional reading.
Etymology
Burst a blood vessel comes from the image of someone so angry that a small blood vessel seems to burst, making them red or as if they might bleed. That's why it means 'become very angry or stressed'.