Indignant means feeling angry because something strikes you as unfair, insulting, or just plain wrong. When you're indignant, you feel like someone has violated a basic rule of fairness or respect, and that violation demands a response.

Imagine your teacher accuses you of talking during class when you were actually silent, raising your hand to answer a question. That hot, tight feeling in your chest, that sense of “This isn't right!” is indignation. You feel indignant because the accusation is unjust.

People become indignant when they witness injustice or disrespect. A student might feel indignant when their careful work is dismissed without being read. A player feels indignant when a referee makes an obviously bad call against their team. Parents feel indignant when someone treats their child unfairly.

The word carries a sense of righteousness, as though your anger comes from a legitimate grievance rather than just not getting your way. When someone speaks in an indignant tone, their voice often rises with a kind of moral outrage: “How dare you suggest I would do such a thing?”

Indignation can motivate people to stand up for themselves or others, but it can also make them self-righteous if they misunderstand the situation.