virago
a loud-voiced, ill-tempered, scolding woman; shrew.
Archaic. a woman of strength or spirit.
Origin of virago
1Other words for virago
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use virago in a sentence
Against such viragos, she sets earlier feminist heroines, who she seems to imagine were a lot like Sarah Palin.
The contemporaries of half our fiercest viragos of fifty, may assure you that, at fifteen, they were all softness and sweetness.
Camilla | Fanny BurneyThe supposed viragos said they were afraid, and Mrs. Hicks advised them to come all together.
Women in Modern Industry | B. L. HutchinsHalf-a-dozen Pennsylvanian viragos surrounded and assailed me with their united tongues to a deafening degree.
Three Months in the Southern States, April-June 1863 | Arthur J. L. (Lieut.-Col.) FremantleEven the honest friendship between him and the remarkable woman he calls his "viragos" gives him many a pleasant hour.
The Woman-Hater | Charles Reade
He knew, too, that women cannot hurl projectiles without looking like viragos and fools.
The Shuttle | Frances Hodgson Burnett
British Dictionary definitions for virago
/ (vɪˈrɑːɡəʊ) /
a loud, violent, and ill-tempered woman; scold; shrew
archaic a strong, brave, or warlike woman; amazon
Origin of virago
1Derived forms of virago
- viraginous (vɪˈrædʒɪnəs), adjective
- virago-like, adjective
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
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