noun
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a loud, violent, and ill-tempered woman; scold; shrew
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archaic a strong, brave, or warlike woman; amazon
Other Word Forms
- viraginous adjective
- virago-like adjective
Etymology
Origin of virago
before 1000; Middle English, Old English < Latin virāgō, equivalent to vir man + -āgō suffix expressing association of some kind, here resemblance
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.
Ms. Boycott chose the name — a virago is defined both as a strong, heroic woman and as a harpy — and it fit the mission, and perhaps also Ms. Callil’s persona.
From New York Times • Oct. 29, 2022
Yet, tellingly, this virago is also the creation of a male writer-director.
From The Guardian • Jan. 11, 2018
“HLN’s virago of vengeance,” the New York Times dubbed her in 2011.
From Slate • Oct. 13, 2016
“Jackson is an awesome virago who delivers her lines like bayonet thrusts,” Time magazine drama critic T.E.
From Washington Post • Apr. 14, 2016
She dreaded not free-quarters, or the visits of virago soldiers' wives, now that Lord Glandore was back to protect Norah.
From My Lords of Strogue Vol. III, (of III) A Chronicle of Ireland, from the Convention to the Union by Wingfield, Lewis
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.
