termagant
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
- termagancy noun
- termagantly adverb
Etymology
Origin of termagant
1175–1225; Middle English Termagaunt, earlier Tervagaunt, alteration of Old French Tervagan name of the imaginary deity
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.
James Flexner went so far as to call her a "termagant."
From Washington Post
It was someone laying down the law — without worrying that a man would label her a virago or harridan or termagant.
From New York Times
Facebook Twitter Pinterest ‘A tough little termagant in a pantsuit’ … making a visit to Australia as US secretary of state in 2010.
From The Guardian
But in Ms. Smith’s tough, levelheaded performance, Mary is an irascible termagant full of batty notions clutching on to life as best she can.
From New York Times
“VOTE NOW!” the OED would urge, “to see whether ‘twerk’ will be joining the dictionary, or we never get to say ‘termagant’ again!”
From Washington Post
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
