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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

Jackson doesn’t think Goneril and Regan are “naturally evil.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 25, 2019

And even the fact that Regan and Goneril were capable of acting so inhumanly towards Gloucester makes Lear’s plight more desperate, and therefore more pathetic.

From Shakespeare in the Theatre by Poel, William

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