Chafe

/t͡ʃeɪf/ · noun

Meaning

Heat excited by friction..

Definitions by Sense

1. Heat excited by friction.
2. Injury or wear caused by friction.
3. (archaic, countable, uncountable) Vexation; irritation of mind; rage.
4. (transitive) To excite heat in by friction; to rub in order to stimulate and make warm.
5. (transitive, figurative) To excite passion or anger in; to fret; to irritate.
6. (transitive) To fret and wear by rubbing.
7. (intransitive) To rub; to come together so as to wear by rubbing; to wear by friction.
8. (intransitive) To be worn by rubbing.

Example Sentences

Like a wylde Bull, that, being at a bay, / Is bayted of a mastiffe and a hound / […] That in his chauffe he digs the trampled ground / And threats his horns […]

When we returned we found the poor prisoner in a terrible chafe with the sentinel for detaining him, for the guard had been true to his trust.

to chafe a cable

the troubled Tiber chafing with her shores

[Gitche Manito] Breathed upon the neighbouring forest, / Made its great boughs chafe together, / Till in flame they burst and kindled; […]

A cable chafes.

He will chafe at the doctor's marrying my daughter.

Many local politicians chafed under the restrictions of Guided Democracy[…]

Synonyms for chafe

Antonyms for chafe

Related Words

Word Forms

• chafes
• chafing
• chafed

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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