termagant

[ tur-muh-guhnt ]

noun

1. a violent, turbulent, or brawling woman.

   Synonyms: scold, harridan, virago, shrew

2. (initial capital letter) a mythical deity popularly believed in the Middle Ages to be worshiped by the Muslims and introduced into the morality play as a violent, overbearing personage in long robes.

adjective

1. violent; turbulent; brawling; shrewish.

termagant

/ ˈtɜːməɡənt /

noun

1. 1. a shrewish woman; scold
   2. ( as modifier )

      a termagant woman

Derived Forms

• ˈtermagantly, adverb
• ˈtermagancy, noun

Other Words From

• terma·gant·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of termagant¹

1175–1225; Middle English Termagaunt, earlier Tervagaunt, alteration of Old French Tervagan name of the imaginary deity

Word History and Origins

Origin of termagant¹

C13: from earlier Tervagaunt, from Old French Tervagan, from Italian Trivigante; after an arrogant character in medieval mystery plays who was supposed to be a Muslim deity

Example Sentences

An aging rock star/comedian/artist/wizard/drag queen, Luci spent a decade in decline before reapplying the glitter lip gloss and towering wig to play a sex bomb/termagant/laundress in a drag mashup of “Aladdin” and “Phantom of the Opera” called “Phantom of the Pantomime.”

From Los Angeles Times

James Flexner went so far as to call her a "termagant."

From Washington Post

After the couple married in 2018, and Ms. Markle officially joined the royal household, the tabloids shifted gears, presenting her as a termagant who shouted at her staff and brought her sister-in law Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, to tears.

From New York Times

It was someone laying down the law — without worrying that a man would label her a virago or harridan or termagant.

From New York Times

“A new generation of feminists have reclaimed her,” our critic Jennifer Szalai writes, “seeing in Dworkin’s incandescent rage a source of illumination, even as they bristle at some of her specific views. This new anthology of her work, shows that the caricature of her as a simplistic man-hater, a termagant in overalls, could only be sustained by not reading what she actually wrote.”

From New York Times

Related Words

• bitter
• chaotic
• fierce
• lawless
• quarrelsome
• raucous
• rough
• rowdy
• unruly
• violent