Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- intransitive verb To wear away or irritate by rubbing or friction.
- intransitive verb To annoy; vex.
- intransitive verb To warm by rubbing, as with the hands.
- intransitive verb To cause irritation by rubbing or friction.
- intransitive verb To become worn or sore from rubbing or friction.
- intransitive verb To feel irritated or impatient.
- noun Warmth, wear, or soreness produced by friction.
- noun Annoyance; vexation.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Heat excited by friction.
- noun An irritated mental condition arising from continued provocation or annoyance; heated impatience or anger, especially under restraint or a sense of injury; a fretful tendency or state; vexation.
- To heat; make warm.
- To excite heat in or make warm by friction; stimulate to warmth by rubbing, as with the hands: as, to
chafe the limbs. - To fret and wear by friction; abrade; especially, abrade (the skin) by rubbing; make sore by rubbing; gall: as, the coarse garments chafed his skin.
- To irritate; annoy; vex; gall; make angry.
- To stimulate, as by pungent odors; perfume. [Rare.]
- To animate; revive; inspirit; encourage.
- Synonyms 3. To rub, wear.
- To gall, vex, irritate, heat, ruffle, exasperate.
- To be or become heated.
- To be fretted and worn by rubbing: as, the cable chafed against a rock.
- To be irritated or annoyed; fret; fume.
- To be in violent agitation; rage or boil; dash, as in anger; fret.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb To excite heat in by friction; to rub in order to stimulate and make warm.
- transitive verb To excite passion or anger in; to fret; to irritate.
- transitive verb To fret and wear by rubbing.
- noun Heat excited by friction.
- noun Injury or wear caused by friction.
- noun Vexation; irritation of mind; rage.
- intransitive verb To rub; to come together so as to wear by rubbing; to wear by friction.
- intransitive verb To be worn by rubbing.
- intransitive verb To have a feeling of vexation; to be vexed; to fret; to be irritated.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun
Heat excited byfriction . - noun Injury or wear caused by friction.
- noun
Vexation ; irritation ofmind ;rage . - verb transitive To excite heat in by friction; to rub in order to stimulate and make warm.
- verb transitive To excite passion or anger in; to fret; to irritate.
- verb transitive To fret and wear by rubbing; as, to chafe a cable.
- verb intransitive To rub; to come together so as to wear by rubbing; to wear by friction.
- verb intransitive To be worn by rubbing; as, a cable chafes.
- verb intransitive To have a feeling of vexation; to be vexed; to fret; to be irritated.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb cause annoyance in; disturb, especially by minor irritations
- noun anger produced by some annoying irritation
- verb cause friction
- verb warm by rubbing, as with the hands
- verb become or make sore by or as if by rubbing
- verb tear or wear off the skin or make sore by abrading
- verb feel extreme irritation or anger
- noun soreness and warmth caused by friction
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
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Examples
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A recent entry describes relentless attacks from what he calls the "chafe monster."
Going the Distance to Help Fight a Rare Blood Cancer Melanie Grayce West 2011
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Among poor blacks worldwide, who may chafe from the legacy of colonial churches brought by white missionaries, Pentecostalism offers a theology that is more emotionally and experientially based and a liturgy that accommodates local rites, rituals, and traditions.
The Preacher 2006
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Among poor blacks worldwide, who may chafe from the legacy of colonial churches brought by white missionaries, Pentecostalism offers a theology that is more emotionally and experientially based and a liturgy that accommodates local rites, rituals, and traditions.
The Preacher 2006
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(Lord ARTHUR and I frequently do not speak for a week unless someone is present) -- but I do not think these things should be made public, and besides, it is an unwritten law amongst "smart" people to avoid subjects that "chafe" -- which sounds like an anachronism -- whatever that means!
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 102, June 4, 1892 Various
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Was Bertram already beginning to "chafe" under these new bonds that held him?
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Was Bertram already beginning to "chafe" under these new bonds that held him?
Miss Billy — Married 1894
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And even the Twins kind of chafe me, when I consider that it is WE that deserved Joe Mauer and THEY what deserved Mark Prior.
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"chafe," as Drake says of him, "like a bear robbed of her whelps."
Westward Ho!, or, the voyages and adventures of Sir Amyas Leigh, Knight, of Burrough, in the county of Devon, in the reign of her most glorious majesty Queen Elizabeth Charles Kingsley 1847
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Furthermore, the White House was not directing hostage strategy anymore; the Iranians seemed to chafe at everything associated with Carter, and we had turned the negotiations over to Warren Christopher at the State Department.
The Good Fight Walter F. Mondale 2010
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Furthermore, the White House was not directing hostage strategy anymore; the Iranians seemed to chafe at everything associated with Carter, and we had turned the negotiations over to Warren Christopher at the State Department.
The Good Fight Walter F. Mondale 2010
onegoodbee commented on the word chafe
oh this is a horrible word!
July 30, 2008
sionnach commented on the word chafe
Mostly, yes. But not always. Sometimes one can find delicious tasty morsels in a chafing dish.
July 30, 2008
chained_bear commented on the word chafe
Yeah, onegoodbee! It really chafes my ass!
July 30, 2008
bilby commented on the word chafe
Here, have a cockchafer.
July 30, 2008
chained_bear commented on the word chafe
Uhh... okay. *wonders what to do with it*
July 30, 2008
skipvia commented on the word chafe
C_B's comment reminded me of the Sheriff of Rottingham's immortal line in Robin Hood; Men in Tights, when, on encountering Marian's chastity belt, he exclaims, "That's really going to chafe my willie."
July 31, 2008
chained_bear commented on the word chafe
(psst... skipvia, I think you're missing some words in your comment that, oddly, appear on the front page.)
July 31, 2008
yarb commented on the word chafe
The html in the link is borked.
July 31, 2008
john commented on the word chafe
Skip, hope you don't mind, I deborked it.
July 31, 2008
chained_bear commented on the word chafe
Borked stuff really chafes my ass.
July 31, 2008
skipvia commented on the word chafe
Bork away, John. I didn't catch the error before it appeared. What was the issue?
July 31, 2008
skipvia commented on the word chafe
Hard cheese for a web designer, placing borked code on a public site.
*contemplating moving to another line of work*
July 31, 2008
john commented on the word chafe
No worries Skip, it was just a typo. A missing >, I think.
July 31, 2008
dontcry commented on the word chafe
"Hard cheese" *snort*
July 31, 2008
chained_bear commented on the word chafe
Horking really chafes my ass.
July 31, 2008