ragebait en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (US) audio
- /ˈɹeɪd͡ʒˌbeɪt/
Etymology
Etymology tree Latin rabiō Proto-Italic *-jēs Latin -iēs Classical Latin rabiēs Late Latin rabia Anglo-Norman ragebor. Middle English rage English rage Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyd- Proto-Indo-European *-t Proto-Indo-European *bʰéydt Proto-Germanic *bītaną Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *-éyeti Proto-Germanic *-janą Proto-Germanic *baitijaną Old Norse beitabor. Middle English bayte English bait English -bait English ragebait From rage + -bait (“manipulation to elicit a particular response”). Compare rage farm.
Meanings
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(Internet, countable, uncountable) Content that intentionally provokes anger or fear in order to increase viewership or interaction.
Holonym: outrage culture
I suspect this may be scripted content, designed as “rage bait” – deliberately courting disapproval to generate more views.
2026 May 28, Amelia Gentleman, “The strange surveilled life of Piper Rockelle: why did a former child influencer decide to go on OnlyFans?”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:Near-synonyms: outrage porn, provocation
So what, precisely, is the new Trump campaign leadership going to do differently? Is there some brilliant stratagem just waiting to be discovered and executed? ¶ Of course not. They’ll keep pumping out those Facebook ads, which will bombard voters who already support him with endless ragebait.
2020 July 16, Paul Waldman, “Trump reshuffles his campaign. If only he could reshuffle himself.”, in The Washington Post, archived from the original on 22 Jul 2020:Even before I spoke with the political scientists, Nerst contended that a better understanding of today’s online argumentation would help people cope with its excesses. “Most people really are tired of shouting matches and want more nuance (according to surveys etc.),” he wrote to me, “and I hope we will develop some cultural immunity towards ragebait and hyperzealotry soon. […]”
2019 April 7, Jesse Singal, “The New Science of How to Argue—Constructively”, in The Atlantic, archived from the original on 29 Apr 2019:The whole thing sounds Trumpian because it is. The Trump campaign was unabashed in 2016 and beyond about its plan to “flood the zone” with garbage or ragebait. The strategy worked in part because it engaged and energized his base.
2020 February 13, Charlie Warzel, “Mike Bloomberg Is Hacking Your Attention”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 07 Jun 2020:Donald Trump and Republicans understand this potent combination of content creation and shamelessness. Whether it’s weekend tweets by the president or Rudy Giuliani’s constant availability to journalists and Fox News hosts, Trumpists flood the zone with misinformation or ragebait.
2019 November 1, Charlie Warzel, “Can Democrats Compete With Trump’s Twitter Feed?”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 03 Apr 2020:On any given day, those who get their news from the loudest voices on the right—Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Breitbart News—are bombarded with partisan propaganda, conspiracy theories, and cynical rage-bait.
2020 January 31, McKay Coppins, “The Conservatives Trying to Ditch Fake News”, in The Atlantic, archived from the original on 25 Mar 2020:Beware ragebait, social media that traffic in fear. Does that Facebook post make your blood boil? Or does it make you fearful of the future? Those are two of the reddest flags out there. But there are more.
2019 December 12, Jessica Guynn, “Facebook disinformation in the 2020 presidential election: What you can do to stop its spread”, in USA Today, archived from the original on 20 Mar 2020:
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(Internet, broadly, countable, humorous, uncountable) Content that intentionally provokes anger or fear in order to increase viewership or interaction. ▸ Something annoying or upseting.
My university's new, buggy as hell enrollment system is actually ragebait.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| rage-bait | alternative | lexicographic | |
| ragebaits | Number=Plur | lexicographic | |
| rage bait | alternative | lexicographic |
Antonyms
joybait · joybait · gigglebait · gigglebait
Relateds
Synonyms
trolling · outrage porn · provocation · provocation · trolling · outrage porn
Translations (13)
fi provosoiva sisältö (content that intentionally provokes anger or fear in order to increase viewership or interaction) · es añagaza enfureciente (content that intentionally provokes anger or fear in order to increase viewership or interaction) · pl ragebait (content that intentionally provokes anger or fear in order to increase viewership or interaction) · fi raivostuttava sisältö (content that intentionally provokes anger or fear in order to increase viewership or interaction) · de Ragebait (content that intentionally provokes anger or fear in order to increase viewership or interaction) · ka რეიჯბეითი (content that intentionally provokes anger or fear in order to increase viewership or interaction) · de Wutköder (content that intentionally provokes anger or fear in order to increase viewership or interaction) · ka სიბრაზის სატყუარა (content that intentionally provokes anger or fear in order to increase viewership or interaction) · pt ragebait (content that intentionally provokes anger or fear in order to increase viewership or interaction) · fi ragebaitti (content that intentionally provokes anger or fear in order to increase viewership or interaction) · fi raivosyötti (content that intentionally provokes anger or fear in order to increase viewership or interaction) · es pescafurias (content that intentionally provokes anger or fear in order to increase viewership or interaction) · ru ре́йджбейт (content that intentionally provokes anger or fear in order to increase viewership or interaction)