Empört

Empört is a German adjective meaning indignant or outraged. It describes a person or group that feels strong moral offense in response to something perceived as unfair, improper, or insulting. The word derives from the verb empören (to outrage) and is used as the past participle in adjectival use: er ist empört; eine empörte Reaktion. It is commonly followed by über to specify the object of indignation, as in empört über den Skandal.

In usage, empört conveys a morally charged, serious form of indignation. It suggests that the reaction is principled or righteous, and it is stronger than verärgert but not necessarily as extreme as wütend or zornig. It can describe individuals or groups, as in die empörte Öffentlichkeit, or depict reactions to events: Die Bevölkerung war empört über die Entscheidung. The related noun Empörung denotes indignation or outrage, often used in political or public discourse. The verb sich empören is also common: Sie empörte sich über die Ungerechtigkeit.

Etymology traces empört to the verb empören, grounded in the same semantic field as Empörung. As an adjective, empört inflects like other weak adjectives and agrees with gender, number, and case of its noun. Its usage is widespread in both formal and informal German, particularly in media, opinion pieces, and everyday speech when strong moral upset is being described.