henpecked

hen·pecked
H4E1N1P3E1C3K5E1D2
/ˈhɛnpɛkt/

adjective

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

Similar
pussywhippedunder the thumbuxoriousdominatedsubmissive
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Meanings

adjectivehenpecked (comparative more henpecked, superlative most henpecked)

comparative more henpecked · superlative most henpecked

  1. particularly of husbands or boyfriendsIntimidated 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."

    June-July 1884, Henry James, “The Author of Beltraffio”, in The English Illustrated Magazine

    Synonyms: pussywhipped, under the thumb, uxorious

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveIntimidated or overwhelmed by a nagging or overbearing matriarch, wife, or girlfriend.

Similar
pussywhippedunder the thumbuxorious

More synonyms by meaning

adjectiveharassed by persistent nagging

Similar
dominatedsubmissive
Also see
pussywhippedwhipped

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

From hen + pecked.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan bajoc, calçasses
  • bajocplagued or overwhelmed by one's wife
  • calçassesplagued or overwhelmed by one's wife
Chinese Mandarin 怕老婆的, 懼內的 /惧内的
  • 怕老婆的 (pàlǎopó de)plagued or overwhelmed by one's wife
  • 懼內的 /惧内的 (jùnèi de)plagued or overwhelmed by one's wife
Czech pod pantoflem
  • pod pantoflemplagued or overwhelmed by one's wife
Danish i sin hule hånd, tøffelhelt
  • i sin hule håndplagued or overwhelmed by one's wife
  • tøffelheltplagued or overwhelmed by one's wife
Finnish tossun alla, tossutettu
  • tossun allaplagued or overwhelmed by one's wife
  • tossutettuplagued or overwhelmed by one's wife
French jobard, la femme porte la culotte
  • jobardplagued or overwhelmed by one's wife
  • la femme porte la culotteplagued or overwhelmed by one's wife
  • dominé par sa femmeplagued or overwhelmed by one's wife
German unter dem Pantoffel, Pantoffelheld
  • unter dem Pantoffelplagued or overwhelmed by one's wife
  • Pantoffelheldplagued or overwhelmed by one's wife
Hungarian papucs, tutyimutyi
  • papucsplagued or overwhelmed by one's wife
  • tutyimutyiplagued or overwhelmed by one's wife
Italian soggiogato, sottomesso
  • soggiogatoplagued or overwhelmed by one's wife
  • sottomessoplagued or overwhelmed by one's wife
  • plagiatoplagued or overwhelmed by one's wife
  • asservitoplagued or overwhelmed by one's wife
Japanese 女房天下, 二本棒
  • 女房天下 (nyōbō tenka)plagued or overwhelmed by one's wife
  • 二本棒 (nihonbō)plagued or overwhelmed by one's wife
  • 鼻下長 (bikachō)plagued or overwhelmed by one's wife
Latin uxorius
  • uxoriusplagued or overwhelmed by one's wife
Norwegian Bokmål tøffelhelt
  • tøffelheltplagued or overwhelmed by one's wife
Persian زنذلیل
  • زنذلیل (zan-zalil)plagued or overwhelmed by one's wife
Polish pod pantoflem, pantoflarz
  • pod pantoflemplagued or overwhelmed by one's wife
  • pantoflarzplagued or overwhelmed by one's wife
  • pozbadniętyplagued or overwhelmed by one's wife
Portuguese mandado
  • mandadoplagued or overwhelmed by one's wife
Russian под башмако́м, под каблуко́м
  • под башмако́м (pod bašmakóm)plagued or overwhelmed by one's wife
  • под каблуко́м (pod kablukóm)plagued or overwhelmed by one's wife
  • подкаблу́чник (podkablúčnik)plagued or overwhelmed by one's wife
Scottish Gaelic fo mhaide na poite, piteag
  • fo mhaide na poiteplagued or overwhelmed by one's wife
  • piteagplagued or overwhelmed by one's wife
Spanish calzonazos, planchabragas
  • calzonazosplagued or overwhelmed by one's wife
  • planchabragasplagued or overwhelmed by one's wife
  • mandilónplagued or overwhelmed by one's wife
  • macabeoplagued or overwhelmed by one's wife
  • pollerudoplagued or overwhelmed by one's wife
  • pisadoplagued or overwhelmed by one's wife
Swedish toffel, toffelhjälte
  • toffelplagued or overwhelmed by one's wife
  • toffelhjälteplagued or overwhelmed by one's wife
  • toffladplagued or overwhelmed by one's wife
Tagalog ander de saya
  • ander de sayaplagued or overwhelmed by one's wife
Turkish kılıbık
  • kılıbıkplagued or overwhelmed by one's wife
Cite this entry
APA

henpecked. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/henpecked

MLA

“henpecked.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/henpecked. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “henpecked,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/henpecked.

Source: henpecked on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.