It wasn’t a horror story, so I don’t now where the author was going with “raging with wraith”. So the character was angry with a ghost?
I suspect that the author meant “raging wrath”, which could be interpreted as being very angry.
‘Cause, you know, wraith is a lack of substance, whether it’s a ghost or a faint trace of something.
Wrath is all about intense anger and/or retribution.
Word Confusions . . .
. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.
If you found this post on “Wraith versus Wrath” interesting, consider subscribing to KD Did It, if you’d like to track this post for future updates.
| Wraith | Wrath |
|---|---|
 — |
 — |
| Part of Grammar: | |
| Noun
Plural: wraiths |
Adjective; Noun
Plural for the noun: wraths |
| Noun: A ghost or ghostlike image of someone, especially one seen shortly before or after their death
|
Adjective: [Archaic] Full of anger Noun: Retributory punishment for an offense or a crime
|
| Examples: | |
| Noun: She believed herself to have been visited by wraiths from the afterlife. Heart attacks had reduced his mother to a wraith. A sea breeze was sending a gray wraith of smoke up the slopes. “The wraith of a hollow laugh issued silently from his parted lips.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald |
Adjective: “Lovel, seldom angry, was violently wrath with his brother-in-law; and, almost always polite, was at breakfast scarcely civil to Lady Baker” (Thackeray, p 165). “I felt wrath with her. My heart so cherished my harmless, defenceless Lilian, that I was jealous of the praise taken from her to be bestowed on another” (Bulwer-Lytton). “Take heede the Queene come not vvithin his ſight, / For Oberon is paſſing fell and vvrath: / Becauſe that ſhe, as her attendant, hath / A louely boy ſtollen, from an Indian king: / She neuer had ſo ſvveete a changeling” (Shakespeare). Noun: I feared her wrath if I was discovered. Back then, a president or presidential candidate had to be smooth or suffer the wrath of the press. “Nobody in Hollywood appears to have the stomach to take the risk of incurring the wrath of the potential future president of the United States, Puck News’s Matthew Belloni reported” (Yuan). And so shall the wrath of God fall upon thee. Noah saw the flood as a sign of the wrath of God. |
| Derivatives: | |
| Adjective: wraithlike | Adjective: wrathful, wrathy Adverb: wrathfully Noun: wrathfulness |
| History of the Word: | |
| Early 16th century, originally Scots, is of unknown origin. | Old English wrǣththu, from the Old English wrāth of Germanic origin and related to the Dutch wreed meaning cruel. |
C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!
Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Building Your Website, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Marketing Help & Resources, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, and/or Writing Ideas and Resources.
Resources for Wraith versus Wrath
Some of these links may be affiliate links, and I will earn a small percentage, if you should buy it. It does not affect the price you pay.
Apple Dictionary.com
Bulwer-Lytton, Edward. A Strange Story. Originally published 1862. Double9 Books, 2023. <https://amzn.to/3YWKlqy>. Ebook.
The Free Dictionary: wraith
Merriam-Webster: wrath
Shakespeare, William. A Midsommer Nights Dreame. London: Richard Bradock for Thomas Fisher, 1600. Fingerprint! Publishing, 2019. <https://amzn.to/3T04GXT>. Ebook.
Thackeray, William Makepeace. “A Black Sheep”. Lovel the Widower. London: Smith, Elder and Co., 1860. Forgotten Books, 2012. <https://amzn.to/3yQwUNY>. Print.
Vocabulary.com: wrath
Yuan, Jada. “Inside the Battle to Release Controversial Trump Movie The Apprentice.” The Washington Post. 25 June 2024. Accessed 22 Aug 2024. <https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/movies/2024/06/25/donald-trump-movie-the-apprentice-release/>. Article.
Pinterest Photo Credits
Creepy Hooded Ghostly Figure is under the Raw Pixel license, via Raw Pixel.
Leave a Reply