Irate means extremely angry. Beyond annoyed and beyond cross.
The word belongs almost entirely to writing, and particularly to journalism, where an irate customer, an irate caller and an irate letter are close to fixed phrases. Nobody says it out loud. It suggests anger loudly expressed rather than quietly held, which is why it suits complaints. Its close relatives are furious, which is stronger, and indignant, which adds a sense of injustice. The noun is ire, which is even more literary.
1adjectiveirateExtremely angry.
“An irate neighbour was waiting on the doorstep.”
Irate is Latin īrātus, angered, from īrāscor, to be angry, and behind that īra, anger itself.
Latin
īrātus — angered, angry
English, today
irate
Built from
From Latin īrātus (“angered, angry”) (see -ate), from īrāscor (“to be angry”), from īra (“anger, wrath”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA