Karen
1 Americannoun
-
Karens,
plural
-
Karen
plural
-
a group of people of eastern and southern Myanmar (Burma).
-
one of these people.
-
the language of the Karen, a Tibeto-Burman language of the Sino-Tibetan family.
adjective
noun
-
Also Karin a first name, form of Katherine.
-
Informal: Disparaging.
-
a white, usually middle-class woman who is rude, demanding, and aggressive toward other people, particularly customer service workers.
-
a person acting in an aggressive, entitled, rude way.
He went full Karen on the poor store manager and threatened to get her fired.
-
noun
-
a member of a Thai people of Myanmar
-
the language of this people, probably related to Thai and belonging to the Sino-Tibetan family
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
In recent days, both California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass have urged the two sides to find common ground.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
There has been increasing pressure on Bonta to engage in settlement talks with Paramount, with California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and others weighing in recently.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
He is now cared for full-time by Ava-Grace and Karen, who runs her own charity which organises lunch clubs for the elderly and vulnerable.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
Mayor Karen Bass and even some of his own prosecutors criticizing the filing as “insane” and a deterrent for police looking to expose corruption and misconduct within their ranks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
“Hurry up, Daddy,” Karen pleaded from the bottom of the stairs.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
On one side are so-called trail Karens, who monitor online web cameras and question why the forest service isn’t ticketing “ignorant and selfish” rule breakers who are hiking the mountain anyway.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 18, 2024
Another thing we wanted to do was if we are taking about Karens or Stop and Frisk, that we have to show multiple, multiple, multiple instances.
From Salon ● Aug. 11, 2023
Ray thought the Karens for Hire video was merely funny until she was telling a friend about it the next day.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 26, 2022
The video, which has been dubbed "Karens in the Air," was posted on TikTok by pop musician Jawny.
From Fox News ● Oct. 18, 2021
And in this work he has had almost fatal success, for his fellow-Christian Karens have responded to his appeals for money to the extent of at least $130,000.
From India, Its Life and Thought by John P. (John Peter) Jones
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
