What does "chafe" mean?
Chafe: To excite passion or anger in; to fret; to irritate. Her intercession chafed him. Shak.
Additional senses
- 2.To fret and wear by rubbing; as, to chafe a cable. Two slips of parchment which she sewed round it to prevent its being chafed. Sir W. Scott.
- 3.To rub; to come together so as to wear by rubbing; to wear by friction. Made its great boughs chafe together. Longfellow. The troubled Tiber chafing with her shores. Shak.
- 4.To be worn by rubbing; as, a cable chafes.
- 5.To have a feeling of vexation; to be vexed; to fret; to be irritated. Spenser. He will chafe at the doctor's marrying my daughter. Shak.
- 6.Heat excited by friction.
- 7.Injury or wear caused by friction.
- 8.Vexation; irritation of mind; rage. The cardinal in a chafe sent for him to Whitehall. Camden.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00