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high dudgeon

high dudgeon

1 9.9
A proud feeling of strong anger that someone shows to others
  • idiom
  • /haɪ ˈdʌdʒən/
  • Archaic
translation icon : gran indignación
  • He expressed his feelings in high dudgeon when he learned about the unfair treatment.
  • a state of high dudgeon

Look, I just find all this high dudgeon really disingenuous.

Examples

  • And the boy retired in high dudgeon to the others, who became as indignant as he.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • A similar attempt was made against an Israeli cabinet minister; she canceled the trip in high dudgeon as a warrant was issued.

    Blog text (7)
  • And naturally, he left in a high dudgeon.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • Look, I just find all this high dudgeon really disingenuous.

  • For he's been in high dudgeon all morning!

  • She had, declared one historian in high dudgeon, passed off "an exciting adventure novel as her memoirs."

    Academic text (2016)
  • I told them, I have job security and excellent credit. What if I just want a loan for myself, a personal loan?" She was in high dudgeon, and her voice grew louder in a perfect arc of Long Island umbrage-taking.

    Blog text (4)
  • He is first heard shouting out repeated requests that "that man" be restrained from continuing to pursue him in a state of high dudgeon.

    Academic text (1995)
  • After the unjust comments about her work, she stormed out of the meeting in high dudgeon.

  • The employee resigned in high dudgeon after being overlooked for a promotion.

Synonyms

dudgeon
vshigh dudgeon
  • Archaic
3 9.9

A strong angry feeling because you are treated unfairly

is a proud, formal display of the same anger rather than just the feeling
in a radge
vshigh dudgeon
  • Slang
9.9

Feeling very angry and annoyed

is more proud and formal in tone than the informal expression

Antonyms

38 5.1

Calm control of your feelings and actions in a difficult situation

9 2.7

A state without strong feelings or worry in your mind

How Angry

rage
393 3.4
high dudgeon
  • Archaic
1 9.9
indignation
39 5.5
anger
957 1.0
annoyance
26 2.8

Surface Forms

high dudgeon singular
high dudgeons plural

Morphology

high + dudgeon

The phrase is directly compositional: 'dudgeon' means anger/indignation and 'high' intensifies degree, so 'high dudgeon' transparently means a strong or intense state of indignation. Although 'dudgeon' is archaic/rare (so many learners won't know the noun), if a learner knows both constituents the meaning follows predictably from standard adjective+noun composition.

Etymology

High dudgeon may come from an old word for a dagger handle, dudgeon. One popular image is of someone holding that handle up when they are angry, so the phrase came to mean 'strong, proud anger'.