Irate means extremely angry, furious to the point where you can barely contain yourself. When someone is irate, they're boiling mad, often showing it through a raised voice, tense body language, or sharp words.

You might see an irate customer at a store demanding to speak with the manager after being overcharged three times in a row. A parent might become irate after discovering their teenager had lied repeatedly about finishing homework. A coach could grow irate watching players ignore instructions and lose a game they should have won.

When you describe someone as irate, you're emphasizing that their anger has reached a peak: they're genuinely enraged, with intensity that's hard to hide. While everyone gets angry sometimes, being irate suggests anger that's intense and overwhelming. An irate driver might honk and yell after nearly getting hit by someone who ran a red light.