Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

hagridden

[hag-rid-n]
adjective
  1. worried or tormented, as by a witch.
Show More

Origin of hagridden

First recorded in 1675–85; hag1 + ridden

hagride

[hag-rahyd]
verb (used with object), hag·rode or (Archaic) hag·rid; hag·rid·den or (Archaic) hag·rid; hag·rid·ing.
  1. to afflict with worry, dread, need, or the like; torment.
Show More

Origin of hagride

First recorded in 1655–65; hag1 + ride
Related formshag·rid·er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for hag-ridden

Historical Examples

  • "I'm not imaginative," he said, "but if I'd been hag-ridden as you have——" He broke off abruptly.

    Regiment of Women

    Clemence Dane

  • Whitaker waited by the desk, a gaunt, weary man, hag-ridden by fear.

    The Destroying Angel

    Louis Joseph Vance

  • Europe, he says ('Chartism'), lay "hag-ridden" and "quack-ridden."

  • We thought him looking old and hag-ridden, but Doria seemed happy.

    Jaffery

    William J. Locke

  • He was neither overlorded by sentiment nor hag-ridden by imagination.

    The Human Drift

    Jack London

British Dictionary definitions for hag-ridden

hag-ridden

adjective
  1. tormented or worried, as if by a witch
  2. facetious (of a man) harassed by women
Show More
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for hag-ridden

n.

1680s, "afflicted by nightmares," from hag (n.) + ridden. An old term for sleep paralysis, the sensation of being held immobile in bed, often by a heavy weight, and accompanied by a sense of alien presence. A holed stone hung over the bed was said to prevent it. Hag-ride as a verb is attested from 1660s.

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper