henpeck

American  

[hen-pek] / ˈhɛnˌpɛk /

verb (used with object)

1. to browbeat, bully, or intimidate (one's husband, boyfriend, etc.).

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henpeck British  

/ ˈhɛnˌpɛk /

verb

1. (tr) (of a woman) to harass or torment (a man, esp her husband) by persistent nagging

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Other Word Forms

• henpecked adjective

Example Sentences

“They’re starting to henpeck each other. We’re eating our own.”

From Washington Post

“Ridley, it is really one of the great privileges of my life to be able to work with you and to sit next to you and henpeck you with questions and have you be so patient in answering them.”

From Los Angeles Times

Users in the flat henpeck at supplies.

From Scientific American

As it is not good form to flaunt one's marriage certificate in the faces of society, an undeniable, flesh-and-blood husband is, perhaps, the next best thing—when exhibited, of course, with that golden mean of frequency which lies between a hint of henpeck on the one side and a suggestion of neglect upon the other.

From Project Gutenberg

Had not Rita been so gentle, yielding, and submissive, or had her father, Tom Bays,—husband to the Chief Justice,—been more combative and less amenable to the corroding influences of henpeck, I doubt if Madam Bays would ever have attained a dignity beyond that of "Associate Justice."

From Project Gutenberg