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.
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 • Dec. 7, 2019
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
The heavily-loaded wagon of the nincompoop and the virago was almost constantly mired.
From Memoirs of Orange Jacobs by Jacobs, Orange
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.
