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

Other Word Forms

• termagantly adverb
• termagancy noun

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

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

Read more on Washington Post

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

Read more on New York Times

Lorena wasn’t just any fury wronged by a man but a hot-blooded Latin termagant.

Read more on Salon

In contrast, Trump in the White House, judging from both Woodward and the Times op-ed, is the same arrogant, ignorant and cruel termagant who displayed all his ugly impulses daily on television in 2016.

Read more on The Guardian

Facebook Twitter Pinterest ‘A tough little termagant in a pantsuit’ … making a visit to Australia as US secretary of state in 2010.

Read more on The Guardian

Related Words

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