fume

fume — verb

1. to feel or show very strong anger, often keeping some of the anger inside rather

1.verbintransitiveB2
Definition

to feel or show very strong anger, often keeping some of the anger inside rather than saying everything that comes to mind.

Example

Paloma fumed silently when her colleague took credit for months of hard work.

intransitive + adverb (silently) for suppressed anger

Passengers fumed about the three-hour delay after boarding the plane.

fume + about + cause of anger

Common collocations
  • fume silently
  • fume about/at/over
  • still fuming
  • fume inwardly
Synonyms
  • seethe

    also suggests internal, often silent anger

  • rage

    stronger, can imply more outward expression

  • brood

    focuses on dwelling on the cause of anger rather than the anger itself

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

fume + at/about/over + noun

fume + (silently/internally)

Usage Note

Often used in the continuous form (be fuming) to describe an ongoing angry state. The object of anger is typically introduced by at, about, or over.

Common Mistakes

I fumed him for being late.
I fumed at him for being late.
fume is intransitive; you cannot directly fume a person.
She fumed loudly across the room.
She fumed quietly in her seat.
fuming often suggests restrained anger, not loud outbursts.

2. to send out smoke, gases, or vapors into the air, especially in an unpleasant or

2.verbtransitive / intransitiveB2
Definition

to send out smoke, gases, or vapors into the air, especially in an unpleasant or harmful way.

Example

The old factory chimney fumed thick black smoke over the neighborhood.

transitive: fume + emitted substance

Chemical plants along the river continued to fume day and night.

intransitive use without direct object

Common collocations
  • fume smoke
  • fume gas
  • fume vapor
  • chimney fumes
  • pipe fumes
Synonyms
  • emit

    more neutral and broader in meaning; not limited to smoke or gas

  • billow

    suggests large volumes of smoke rolling outward

  • spew

    more forceful and negative, suggesting something unpleasant

Grammar Patterns

fume + noun (object of emission)

fume (no object)

Usage Note

Less common than the anger sense. When used transitively, the object is the substance being emitted (smoke, gas, vapor). Commonly appears in technical or environmental descriptions.

3. to treat an enclosed space or object with chemical smoke or gas in order to kill

3.verbtransitiveC1
Definition

to treat an enclosed space or object with chemical smoke or gas in order to kill harmful insects, bacteria, or other pests.

Example

The pest control team fumed the entire warehouse to kill the termites.

transitive: fume + location

Farmers used sulfur to fume empty grain silos before the new harvest.

fume + for purpose (fumigation)

Common collocations
  • fume a room
  • fume with sulfur
  • fume a building
Synonyms
  • fumigate

    the standard, more common term for this meaning

  • disinfect

    broader; can be done without smoke or gas

Grammar Patterns

fume + noun (location/object)

Usage Note

This sense is uncommon in everyday English; the synonym fumigate is far more frequent. You may encounter fumed in historical or specialized texts about pest control or disinfection.

Common Mistakes

We need to fume the clothes in the closet.
We need to fumigate the closet.
for everyday contexts, fumigate is the usual word.

fume — noun

Word family

  • fuming
    adjectiveB2
  • fumigate
    verbC1
  • fumigation
    nounC1
  • fumy
    adjectiveC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

All four words describe a state of strong negative emotion, but they differ in how the emotion is expressed. Fume suggests simmering anger that may or may not be visible to others — the person is thinking angry thoughts while possibly staying quiet on the outside. Seethe is very similar to fume, but emphasizes the inner turbulence more strongly; a person who seethes is barely holding back their feelings. Rage is the most intense and often the most visible of the group — a person who rages shouts, loses control, or acts violently. Brood is different: it focuses on dwelling repeatedly on the cause of anger or hurt, often over a long period, with less emphasis on the intensity of the emotion itself. For example, someone might fume at a rude email for an hour, seethe through a long meeting, rage at an injustice in public, or brood about a past betrayal for months.

fume ↗seetherage ↗brood

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • in a fume
  • fumes of anger
  • fumes of jealousy

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Fume comes from the Latin word fumus, meaning 'smoke' or 'vapor.' It entered English through Old French fum, and by the 14th century it was being used both literally (for smoke and gas) and figuratively (for anger that 'smokes' inside a person). The connection between smoke and anger is an old one — the idea that strong emotion rises inside a person like smoke from a fire.