Word of the Week: Irate

Word: irate

Pronunciation: ai-RAYT

Part of Speech: adjective

Definition: feeling or characterized by great anger

Source: Oxford Dictionaries


OK, so I decided to go with a simpler word this week. There isn’t too much I can say about the word “irate”, except that it’s on the more intense end of the “angry” spectrum. This is easy to understand, since the root of the word “irate” is “ire”, both of which come from Latin, respectively the adjective iratus (“angry”, “enraged”, “furious”) and the noun ira (“anger”, “rage”, “wrath”). Basically, it’s just another word to add to the long list of synonyms for “angry”.

When it comes to my writing, I prefer to use “irate” in scenes involving characters who are so enraged by the given circumstances, they’re practically seeing red. For example, the most recent use of the word in one of my narratives was in a love story involving a teenage couple whose relationship, for sociopolitical reasons, was considered taboo (yes, sort of like a modern version of Romeo and Juliet). In this case, “irate” was one of my words of choice to describe their parents’ reactions upon discovering they’d been secretly involved for several months. While I included various synonyms for “angry” in the scene, this one seemed especially fitting for the level of outrage that I wanted to portray, as it rests on a similar line of the spectrum as words like “infuriated” and “livid”. In my opinion, “irate” is a good word to keep in mind for descriptions of extremely angry characters; after all, you can never have too extensive a vocabulary when writing about emotions!

What are your thoughts on this word? Any suggestions for future “Word of the Week” featured words?

Journal – Sunshine Blogger Award

So last week started off with my blog’s first news update, and now today marks my first official journal post. Like the news posts, my journal won’t be a regular segment, but it’s where I’ll occasionally be sharing random thoughts that don’t quite fit into the other topics on my blog. Hope you enjoy!

Sunshine Blogger AwardA few weeks ago, talented writer and blogger Jennifer M Zeiger nominated me for the Sunshine Blogger Award! I was honored to receive the notice, as the award is passed between bloggers who positively and creatively inspire others in the blogosphere. It’s wonderful to know I’ve been inspiring readers with my writing; that’s exactly what I hoped to achieve with my creative writing blog!

Now I’m supposed to share a little information about myself. Here goes…

Ten Facts About Me

1) I was born and raised in the United States, but I’ve been living in Brazil for several years now, making me fluent in both English and Portuguese.

2) I’ve been in love with creative writing since the fourth grade, and with reading since before preschool. Although I’ve wanted to be a writer since elementary school, I recently graduated from college with a Bachelor’s in Biology, and I plan to attend grad school soon to get my Master’s in Marine Biology.

3) My favorite literary genres are science fiction/fantasy, because I find it fascinating to imagine worlds that different in key aspects from ours; and romance, because I’ve always been intrigued by the theme of love.

4) Some of my greatest writing influences include the authors Roald Dahl (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter series), Eoin Colfer (Artemis Fowl series) and Marion Zimmer Bradley (The Mists of Avalon saga).

5) Five of my favorite movies are Finding Nemo, West Side Story, Forrest Gump, Beauty and the Beast and Tangled.
(Edit 7/12/13 – Oh yeah, one more favorite that I forgot to add to this list: How To Train Your Dragon!)

6) My greatest role models are my parents. They taught me almost everything I know about life and love, and they’ve been incredibly supportive of me and my writing. I feel so blessed to have been raised by such wonderful and intelligent people.

7) That “best friend” of mine whose been mentioned in a few of my blog posts? He’s also my boyfriend (and we’re in love).

8) Video games have been a major inspiration for my writing over the years, especially my fantasy stories.

9) One of the most common motifs in my writing is birds, possibly reflecting my lifelong desire to be able to fly. At least three of the novels I’m planning have strong bird references, as do a few of my short stories. Other motifs I like to throw into my writing are dragons and wolves.

10) I chose the pen name J.C. Wolfe for its potential catchiness as a unisex science fiction/fantasy author’s name. I hope my readers like it as much as I do!

Paying It Forward: My Ten Nominees

  1. The Musical Blog of Brent Gnecco (His blog isn’t actually active yet, but I feel he deserves a nomination for his inspirational music.)
  2. Best Ever Easy Recipes
  3. Emily Morgan Writes
  4. Vanessa Writes
  5. Lilica’s Place
  6. Writers Challenge 2013
  7. On Becoming a Writer
  8. Sonia G Medeiros
  9. Dragons and Snails
  10. My Forex Trading Room

For those nominated, this is how it works:

  • Use the award logo in this post.
  • Link to the person who nominated you.
  • Share ten pieces of information about yourself.
  • Nominate ten fellow bloggers who “positively and creatively inspire others in the blogosphere”.
  • Leave a comment on the nominees’ blogs to tell them about the award.

Thanks again to Jennifer for the nomination, and to the nominees for continuing to add creativity and inspiration to the blogosphere!

By the way, if you haven’t yet, you should really check out Jennifer’s blog. Her stories are awesome! Thanks for reading!

Pin It on Pinterest