henpecked

[hen-pekt]

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adjective

browbeaten, bullied, or intimidated by one's wife, girlfriend, etc.: a henpecked husband who never dared to contradict his wife.

Origin of henpecked

First recorded in 1670–80; hen + peck² + -ed²

Related formshen·peck·ing, noun

henpeck

[hen-pek]

verb (used with object)

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

Related formshen·pecked, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for henpecked

acquiescent, compliant, constrained, docile, intimidated, meek, obedient, passive, resigned, submissive, timid, yielding, browbeaten, dominated, unassertive, unresisting

Examples from the Web for henpecked

Contemporary Examples of henpecked

One danger is that women will be henpecked by men who now claim that unprotected sex is medically safe.
The New Unsafe Sex
Tracy Quan
July 28, 2009

Historical Examples of henpecked

It was, she said, just the opposite—she who had been henpecked.
Adventures and Recollections
Bill o'th' Hoylus End
People said that Squire Hall was henpecked; they also said that he had married beneath him.
The Way to Peace
Margaret Deland
I had heard of henpecked husbands and now I felt that I saw one.
Anne Of Avonlea
Lucy Maud Montgomery
I had the gout, my wife was a shrew, and I was—a henpecked husband.
Sheppard Lee, Vol. I (of 2)
Robert Montgomery Bird
I am prepared to become an awful example of a henpecked husband.
Mount Royal, Volume 1 of 3
Mary Elizabeth Braddon

British Dictionary definitions for henpecked

henpecked

adjective

(of a man) continually harassed or tormented by the persistent nagging of a woman (esp his wife)

henpeck

verb

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

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 henpecked

adj.

1670s, an image from hen + peck (v.).

The henpect Man rides behind his Wife, and lets her wear the Spurs and govern the Reins. [Samuel Butler]

The verb henpeck (1680s) apparently is a back-formation.