frumious

[ froo-mee-uhs ]

adjective

1. very angry.

Word History and Origins

Origin of frumious¹

Coined by Lewis Carroll in Through the Looking Glass (1871), a blend, Carroll claimed, of fuming and furious

Example Sentences

Tickner, who was born in New York on Sept. 8, 1946, was a former rocker with the San Francisco band Frumious Bandersnatch with bassist Ross Valory.

From Los Angeles Times

Frumious Bandersnatch — sorry, we mean Benedict Cumberbatch — lends his voice to a new episode of “The Simpsons.”

From Los Angeles Times

Coming between its completed fourth and recently announced fifth seasons and entitled "Bandersnatch," like the "frumious" creature Lewis Carroll advises shunning in "Jabberwocky," it is a feature-length interactive episode, an adventure game about an adventure game.

From Los Angeles Times

They graph, to take one example, the astounding career path of “chortle,” coined by Lewis Carroll in “Jabberwocky,” which has left its siblings “galumphing” and “frumious” in the dust.

From New York Times

But as Lewis Carroll said of the frumious bandersnatch: shun the Champs Elysees.

From BBC

More About Frumious

What does frumious mean?

Frumious means very angry, as in My mom was frumious that I skipped school today.

Frumious was coined by author Lewis Carroll for his children’s novel Through the Looking-Glass. It appears in the poem “Jabberwocky,” which is part of the novel.

In the poem, the narrator warns his son to “shun / The frumious Bandersnatch,” a violent and enraged creature.

Frumious is mostly used as Carroll intended, often in a playful rather than serious way.

Example: I am absolutely frumious that they left that movie on a cliffhanger.

Where does frumious come from?

The first records of the term frumious come from the late 1800s. It was coined by Lewis Carroll for his novel Through the Looking-Glass, who said it was a combination of fuming and furious.

Frumious Bandersnatch is the name of an American rock-’n’-roll band from the 1960s, known for its psychedelic music and allusions to famous works of literature, such as Through the Looking-Glass and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, both by Carroll. Some of the band’s most popular compositions include “Chesire” and “Woodrose Syrup.”

Learn about other delightful words coined by Carroll here.

Did you know … ?

What are some synonyms for frumious?

• angry
• enraged
• furious
• irritated
• offended

What are some words that share a root or word element with frumious? 

• furious
• fuming

What are some words that often get used in discussing frumious?

• bandersnatch
• language
• Jabberwocky
• rock-‘n’-roll

How is frumious used in real life?

Frumious is primarily used playfully in casual speech.

The Steve Miller Band and Journey were both comprised of former members of the '60s psychedelic rock band Frumious Bundersnatch.

— What The F*** Facts (@WhatTheFFacts) June 6, 2016

Shun the frumious Bandersnatch. pic.twitter.com/vcxAcsqf4u

— chris riddell (@chrisriddell50) August 24, 2021

"Beware the snubsnub bird. Will Oscar shun the frumious Cumberbatch?" Lewis Carroll, awards prognosticator #Oscars2015

— Howard Sherman (@HESherman) January 15, 2015

 

More information about frumious!

Is frumious used correctly in the following sentence?

Ishir was so frumious about Jadzia’s promotion that he threw her a party.