Phrases to describe Anger

Question 1

to be blinded by rage

Answer 1

unable to think clearly due to extreme anger

• Blinded by rage, he threw his chair at the teacher.
• Tim was so blinded by rage that he shouted at his groupmates in front of the whole class.

Question 2

to go ballistic

Answer 2

to become extremely angry; to fly into a rage

• Father went ballistic after he found out that I was suspended from school.
• I got some bad news for you, but you must promise me that you will not go ballistic when you hear it.

Question 3

to burst a blood vessel

Answer 3

to be very angry or frustrated over something

• Mr Tan nearly burst a blood vessel while marking the students’ essays.
• If I talk to her again, I might burst a blood vessel.

Question 4

to express outrage

Answer 4

to show displeasure or anger

• The public expressed outrage over the hiking of public transport fares.
• The workers expressed their outrage when the boss broke the news that their salaries will be cut this year.

Question 5

to be on a warpath

Answer 5

to be extremely angry and inclined to take action (often hostile, dangerous)

• Mr Toh was on a warpath the moment he found out that his car was vandalised.
• Stay away from him. Someone stole his handphone and now he is on a warpath.

Question 6

to throw a hissy fit

Answer 6

a sudden period of uncontrollable and silly anger like a child’s; to throw a tantrum or an angry outburst

• My younger sister threw a hissy fit when my parents refused to buy her the toy she wanted.
• Ignore her. She is throwing another one of her hissy fits.

Question 7

animosity (n)

Answer 7

a strong dislike or unfriendly feeling; strong hostility, hatred

• I do not know what I did to her to deserve such animosity!
• The senior students displayed animosity to their juniors who were sharing the basketball court with them.

Question 8

tongue-lashing (n)

Answer 8

If you give someone a tongue-lashing, you speak angrily to that person about something that they have done wrong; to give a scolding

• Jon received a severe tongue-lashing from our class teacher after he failed to hand in his homework for the third time.
• Father gave me a tongue-lashing for failing my composition test.

Question 9

to be exasperated

Answer 9

annoyed, especially because you can do nothing to solve a problem; infuriate; irritate intensely

• Sally was exasperated by her mother’s constant nagging.
• Mr Tan is exasperated by the student’s lazy attitude!

Question 10

to blow one’s top off

Answer 10

to lose one’s temper

• The principal blew his top off when the boy argued back instead of apologising for his misdeeds.
• Take a deep breath and cool down for a moment. You do not want to blow your top off and say things that you will regret later.