Henpecked

//ˈhɛnpɛkt// adj

adj ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Intimidated or overwhelmed by a nagging or overbearing matriarch, wife, or girlfriend.

    ""I noticed that he addressed her as 'My dear,' very genially, without any trace of resentment.... The quickness of the transition made me vaguely ask myself whether he were henpecked,—a shocking conjecture, which I instantly dismissed.""

Adjective
  1. 1
    harassed by persistent nagging wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
submissiveabusedbrowbeatendominateddowntroddowntrodden

Example

More examples

"A man who asks his wife's permission before taking any action except breathing is a henpecked husband."

Etymology

From hen + pecked.

Related phrases

wear pants

More for "henpecked"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

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