dragon lady

noun

(often initial capital letters) a woman of somewhat sinister glamour often perceived as wielding ruthless or corrupt power.

QUIZZES

TAKE ROUND 2 OF OUR PSAT VOCABULARY QUIZ!

Here is our second set of teacher-selected PSAT vocabulary words. Do you know the meanings of these terms?
Question 1 of 10
advocate
to give up possession or occupancy of.
to speak or write in favor of; support or urge by argument; recommend publicly.
to pronounce or decree by judicial sentence.
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of dragon lady

after the villainous Asian woman in the cartoon strip Terry and the Pirates (1934–1973) created by U.S. cartoonist Milton Caniff (born 1907)

Words nearby dragon lady

drago, dragoman, dragon, dragon beam, dragon fruit, dragon lady, dragon lizard, dragon market, dragon tree, dragon's blood, dragon's head
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Idioms and Phrases with dragon lady

dragon lady

A domineering or belligerent woman, as in They called her the neighborhood dragon lady—she was always yelling at the children. This slangy term was originally the name of a villainous Asian woman in Milton Caniff's popular cartoon strip Terry and the Pirates (1934–1973), which ran in many newspapers. It was transferred to more general use in the mid-1900s.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.