As a noun, rage is a very strong feeling of anger that can be hard to control. As a verb, it means to feel or act with violent anger, or for something like a storm or war to happen with great force.
It comes from Old French “rage,” from Latin “rabies,” meaning “madness, fury,” which also gives us the disease name “rabies.” The sense of wild, uncontrolled emotion has stayed central across its history.
“Rage” is related to the word “rabies,” the disease that makes animals act mad and aggressive, so the idea of wild fury is built into its history. In slang, “all the rage” strangely flips the meaning, turning a word for violent anger into one for something extremely popular.
Expressions of rage have been gendered in many cultures, with men’s anger more often normalized or valorized and women’s anger pathologized or dismissed. Terms like "hysteria" historically framed women’s intense emotions as irrational or medical problems rather than responses to injustice.
When describing rage, avoid stereotypes that men’s rage is powerful and women’s rage is irrational; instead, tie rage to specific contexts and experiences. Acknowledge how gender norms shape whose anger is heard or punished.
When discussing political or social movements, recognize the role of women’s and gender minorities’ anger as a catalyst for change rather than reducing it to stereotypes.
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