Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

Goneril

American  
[gon-er-il] / ˈgɒn ər ɪl /

noun

  1. (in Shakespeare'sKing Lear ) the elder of Lear's two faithless daughters.


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.

Nobody cheers for Goneril and Regan as they wreak destruction on their pitiable father.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 14, 2026

Most of those who resurrect her do so to account for the psychology of Goneril, Regan and Cordelia.

From Washington Post • Dec. 5, 2021

In “Romeo and Juliet,” Mercutio famously declares, “A plague o’ both your houses,” while in “King Lear,” the doddering royal spits an insulting “plague-sore” at his daughter Goneril.

From New York Times • Jul. 15, 2020

Elizabeth Marvel, grand veteran of Ivo van Hove deconstructions, gives us an increasingly debauched Goneril while the electric Irish actress Aisling O'Sullivan portrays a brooding Regan pinched with resentment.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 4, 2019

Goneril and Regan stoop to Edmund through baseness; Malvolio's love for Olivia is made ridiculous.

From A Letter on Shakspere's Authorship of The Two Noble Kinsmen and on the characteristics of Shakspere's style and the secret of his supremacy by Spalding, William

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Look it up. Learn it forever.

Remember "Goneril" for good with VocabTrainer. Expand your vocabulary effortlessly with personalized learning tools that adapt to your goals.

Take me to Vocabulary.com