Harridan

//ˈhæɹ.ɪ.dən// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A vicious and scolding woman, especially an older one.

    "Why is that tattling old harridan, Peggy O'Dowd, to make free with my name at her d—d supper-table, and advertise my engagement over the three kingdoms?"

  2. 2
    a scolding (even vicious) old woman wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
baboonbad womanbagbaggagebattle axebeldame

Example

More examples

"Why is that tattling old harridan, Peggy O'Dowd, to make free with my name at her d—d supper-table, and advertise my engagement over the three kingdoms?"

Etymology

Perhaps a modification of French haridelle (“old horse, nag”).

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.