Meanings
plural viragos · plural viragoes
- A woman given to undue belligerence or ill manner at the slightest provocation.
Joan was all Arden, grinning there, siding with her virago mother.
1964, Anthony Burgess, chapter III, in Nothing Like the Sun1 more example
Not unnaturally, “Auntie” took this communication in bad part. Thus outraged, she showed herself to be a bold as well as a furious virago. Next day she found her way to their lodgings and tried to recover her ward by the hair of the head.
1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XXII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC, page 361Synonyms: shrew, termagant, battle axe, bitch, brim, brimstone, cat, cockatrice
- A woman who is scolding, domineering, or highly opinionated.
Synonyms: shrew, battle axe, bitch, brim, brimstone, cat, cockatrice, crow
- A woman who is rough, loud, and aggressive.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA woman given to undue belligerence or ill manner at the slightest provocation.
nounA woman who is scolding, domineering, or highly opinionated.
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinvirāgō“warlike or heroic woman”
- Englishvirago
Borrowed from Latin virāgō (“warlike or heroic woman”, literally “manlike”).
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian мъжкарана
- мъжкарана (măžkarana)rough woman
Catalan virago
- viragorough woman
Chinese Mandarin 潑婦 /泼妇, 悍婦 /悍妇
- 潑婦 /泼妇 (pōfù)woman given to undue belligerence
- 悍婦 /悍妇 (hànfù)woman who is scolding
- 母夜叉 (mǔyèchā)rough woman
Czech dračice
- dračicerough woman
Finnish äkäpussi, äkäpussi
- äkäpussiwoman given to undue belligerence
- äkäpussiwoman who is scolding
- äkäpussirough woman
- amatsonirough woman
- viragorough woman
French virago
- viragorough woman
German Flintenweib, Virago
- Flintenweibrough woman
- Viragorough woman
- Mannweibrough woman
- Zänkerinrough woman
- Krawallnudelrough woman
Hungarian cserfes nő
- cserfes nőrough woman
Irish ainscian mná, maistín (mná)
- ainscian mnárough woman
- maistín (mná)rough woman
- ropaire mnárough woman
- stiúireachán mnárough woman
- báirseachrough woman
- rálachrough woman
Italian virago
- viragorough woman
Polish jędza, megiera
- jędzarough woman
- megierarough woman
- herod-babarough woman
Portuguese virago
- viragorough woman
Russian бо́й-ба́ба
- бо́й-ба́ба (bój-bába)rough woman
Spanish virago
- viragorough woman
Cite this entry
virago. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/virago
“virago.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/virago. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “virago,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/virago.
Source: virago on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.