vixen

American  

[vik-suhn] / ˈvɪk sən /

noun

1. a female fox.

2. an ill-tempered or quarrelsome woman.

   Synonyms:

   termagant, harpy, virago, scold, shrew

3. a woman considered to be sexually attractive.

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vixen British  

/ ˈvɪksən /

noun

1. a female fox

2. a quarrelsome or spiteful woman

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Other Word Forms

• vixenish adjective
• vixenishly adverb
• vixenishness noun
• vixenly adjective

Etymology

Origin of vixen

First recorded in 1375–1425; southern late Middle English, replacing earlier northern Middle English fixen, from Old English fyxe, feminine of fox fox (compare fyxen “pertaining to a fox,” Old High German fuhsin “vixen”)

Explanation

A vixen is a female fox. Or it can be a woman with a temper. If you really want to insult a woman who is a little short on patience, call her a vixen. She won’t like it. Somewhere along the line the word vixen came to mean a hot-headed or ill-tempered person. Nowadays vixen is often used as a derisive term for an unpleasant or mean woman. Vixen also gets used frequently in descriptions of female film characters. In this way it doesn’t really mean that the character is bad tempered. As slang, to call someone a vixen means that she's sexy and flirtatious, a label she may or may not like.

Example Sentences

Kim Kardashian is a reality star, a tabloid sensation, a prison-reform advocate, a beauty and shapewear mogul and a former video vixen.

From New York Times • Sep. 21, 2023

Keeping a mother vixen in confinement for a recommended six to 12 months would be hell on her, and the people who were bitten would still have to undergo rabies shots.

From Washington Post • Apr. 11, 2022

Ms Buck said: "They're very old for this time of year so we think it's possibly a young vixen who was having child control problems."

From BBC • Mar. 20, 2022

Her mother played a vixen in videos for rappers like LL Cool J and DMX; Saweetie, meanwhile, describes her as a “tiger mom” who expected straight A’s from her daughter.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 9, 2021

Instantly the vixen lashed at his cheek, although Pax noted she did not use her claws.

From "Pax" by Sara Pennypacker