virago means A woman given to undue belligerence or ill manner at the slightest provocation. It carries an Arena rating of 1623, earned across 5 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, virago ranks #700 of 17,104 for Most Storied Words, #1,159 of 17,143 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words, #2,218 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #3,139 of 17,127 for Most Vivid Words.
virago is pronounced /vɪˈɹɑːɡəʊ/.
Why “virago” is a great word
A domineering, scolding, or aggressively loud woman. From the Latin virāgō ('female warrior, heroic woman'), built from vir ('man') and the suffix -āgō (expressing association), the word entered English by the late 14th century, its martial valor long since stripped away. Unlike a shrew, which implies a petty, nagging temper, or an amazon, which suggests mythic strength and stature, a virago is a figure of besieging noise and bluster—the thunderous voice from an upper window that silences the street, the matriarch whose mere glance quells a banquet hall, the spouse whose presence turns a home into a garrison. She is authority twisted into weaponry, a portrait of force stripped of its grace.
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin virāgō (“warlike or heroic woman”, literally “manlike”).
noun
- A woman given to undue belligerence or ill manner at the slightest provocation.
- A woman who is scolding, domineering, or highly opinionated.
- A woman who is rough, loud, and aggressive.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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