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Definition of "dudgeon" [dudg•eon]

  • A sullen, angry, or indignant humor: "Slamming the door in Meg's face, Aunt March drove off in high dudgeon” ( Louisa May Alcott). (noun)
  • Obsolete A kind of wood used in making knife handles. (noun)
  • Archaic A dagger with a hilt made of this wood. (noun)
  • Archaic The hilt of a dagger. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "dudgeon" in a sentence
  • "More bloviation and high dudgeon from the White House on the reporting of the bank records data mining: Speaking at a fund-raising event in St. Louis for Senator Jim Talent, Mr. Bush made the news reports his central theme."
  • "The animal was restive, took the stone very much in dudgeon, ran, and carrying his rider under a tree, Mr. Randolph's forehead was struck by a low-lying limb, and he was thrown off."
  • "We waited by the hedge-side for several minutes – Mr. Charles ceased his urging, half in dudgeon, save that he was too pleasant a man really to take offence at anything."