frumious

American  

[froo-mee-uhs] / ˈfru mi əs /

adjective

1. very angry.

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Usage

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.

Etymology

Origin of frumious

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

Example Sentences

But for some of us traditional old farts who don’t want our television in kit form, it was just a bit too frumious.

From The Guardian • Jun. 1, 2019

Faced with that gloomy question, most futurists and even some zoologists tend toward the whimsical: late-late-show killer ants, say, or playful monsters that put one in mind of Lewis Carroll's frumious Bandersnatch.

From Time Magazine Archive

Chicago's frumious Mayor Ed Kelly, who once introduced the Navy's famed "Bull" Halsey as "Alderman Halsey" had another one of those weeks.

From Time Magazine Archive

All this the frumious Mr. Ford had watched.

From Time Magazine Archive

Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun The frumious Bandersnatch!'

From Through the Looking-Glass by Carroll, Lewis