seething
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Adjective: 1. In a state of intense, often agitated, activity or emotion: Describes something that is bubbling, churning, or filled with restless energy, like a boiling liquid. This can apply to physical movement or to strong, contained feelings like anger. 2. Crowded and moving in a restless, chaotic way: Describes a large group of people or things in constant, turbulent motion.
Examples of Usage
- Describing intense, contained emotion:
- She was seething with rage after hearing the news.
- Beneath his calm exterior, he was seething with jealousy.
- Describing chaotic, active movement:
- The seething crowd pushed against the barriers.
- The compost pile was a seething mass of insects.
Advanced Usage
- "seething with [emotion]": A common collocation to indicate being filled with a powerful, often negative, feeling.
- The team was seething with frustration after the unfair loss.
- Used metaphorically to describe a mind full of turbulent thoughts.
- His seething brain could find no peace.
Variants and Related Words
- Seethe (verb): To be filled with intense, unexpressed anger, or to be in a state of turbulent activity.
- The water began to seethe as it reached boiling point.
- He seethed silently during the entire meeting.
Synonyms
- Fuming: Feeling or showing great anger.
- Boiling: Very angry (metaphorical); or literally, bubbling with heat.
- Churning: Moving vigorously or being in a state of agitation.
- Teeming: Full of people or things moving about actively.
Related Idioms
- To be at a boiling point: To be so angry that one is about to lose control, closely related to the state of "seething."
- After the insult, he was at a boiling point.
Adjective
- in constant agitation
- a seething flag-waving crowd filled the streets
- a seething mass of maggots
- lovers and madmen have such seething brains- Shakespeare