name, noun, slang ·Moderate ·High school level
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"“I pull out the dog treats I carry for just for such intransigence,” he wrote. “That’s when I started video recording with my iPhone, and when her inner Karen fully emerged and took a dark turn,” he said, using the name that has become slang for an entitled white woman."
"U Nu's government was Socialist with a program of nationalization. But it had to fight for survival against almost universal disorder complicated by a Communist rebellion, a Karen rising, which was far more serious, and, in 1950, the arrival from Yünnan of General Li Mi's Kuomintang division after its rout by the Chinese Communists."
"This Karen threatened to get me fired if I didn't give her a free meal."
"Left you a lover in that far land, / O Karen sad, that you pine so long! / Would I could unravel and understand / That sorrowful, sweet Norwegian song!"
"Karen bought a lot of things at the flea market."
A middle-aged white woman who exhibits a strong sense of white privilege and entitlement—often rooted in racism against minority races—and frequently targets or antagonizes individuals who face greater societal challenges or must work significantly harder than she.
Common synonyms include: entitled woman, forename, given name, karen language, karenic, karenic language.
Karen bought a lot of things at the flea market.
Pronounced /ˈkæɹən/.
From Danish Karen, a vernacular form of Catherine that arose in medieval Denmark. The sense "middle-aged woman" comes from the popularity of the name among baby boomers and Gen-Xers. The derogatory usage was popularized via African-American Vernacular English.
From Parthian 𐭊𐭓𐭍𐭉 (krny /Kārēn/), from Old Iranian. The Armenian name is from Armenian Կարեն (Karen), from the same Parthian name.
From Burmese ကရင် (ka.rang), of disputed origin.