Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A woman regarded as critical and scolding.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun An odious old woman; a hag; a vixenish woman.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A worn-out strumpet; a vixenish woman; a hag.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
vicious andscolding woman , especially anolder one.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a scolding (even vicious) old woman
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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The word "harridan" derives from the French word "haridelle" - a worn-out horse or nag.
THE NEWS BLOG 2005
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I really thought before I used the word harridan to describe Senator Clinton's outburst.
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I recalled a harridan of satanic disposition old enough to have written the first drafts of most of her charges.
Petty Pewter Gods Cook, Glen 1995
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Look up "harridan" in the dictionary and Annie's picture looks back at you.
Ann Coulter Loses It, Calls Elizabeth Edwards A "Harridan" 2009
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In this column, Dowd claims that conservatives were trying to paint Michelle Obama as a "harridan", but of course she offers absolutely no examples of how conservatives were attempting this feat.
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notmaxclifford - its just too ungallant to refer to Jenny as a 'harridan'.
Its Goodbye to Humour. Glyn Davies 2008
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In my book, I refer to my mother as General Patton in pedal pushers, and frequently paint her as a shrieking harridan for whom water in the kitchen sink or unraked shag carpeting could produce bouts of rage: earsplitting, fist-shaking, God-summoning rage that fortunately predated the presence of guns in the suburban household.
Eric Poole: She has Every Right to Kill Me Eric Poole 2011
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In my book, I refer to my mother as General Patton in pedal pushers, and frequently paint her as a shrieking harridan for whom water in the kitchen sink or unraked shag carpeting could produce bouts of rage: earsplitting, fist-shaking, God-summoning rage that fortunately predated the presence of guns in the suburban household.
Eric Poole: She has Every Right to Kill Me Eric Poole 2011
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And they proceeded to blindly follow the heartless, shrewish harridan Margaret Thatcher.
Martin Lewis: Murdoch Most Foul Martin Lewis 2011
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No less a harridan for safety than the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has dubbed his campaign misguided.
Driving Distraction Jr. Holman W. Jenkins 2011
singlepayernow commented on the word harridan
i would say to a woman:
you are a harry dan! OR
you are a hairy dan!
November 30, 2007
john commented on the word harridan
"Perhaps it is because feminists are still so busy cataloging past slights to Hillary that they have failed to mount a vivid defense of Michelle Obama, who has taken over from Hillary as the one conservatives like to paint as a harridan."
The New York Times, Mr. Darcy Comes Courting, by Maureen Down, August 3, 2008
August 3, 2008