termagant

termagant
    n 1: a scolding nagging bad-tempered woman [syn: {shrew},
         {termagant}]
    

Termagant \Ter"ma*gant\, a.
   Tumultuous; turbulent; boisterous; furious; quarrelsome;
   scolding. -- {Ter"ma*gant*ly}, adv.
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         A termagant, imperious, prodigal, profligate wench.
                                                  --Arbuthnot.
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Termagant \Ter"ma*gant\, n. [OE. Trivigant, Termagant, Termagant
   (in sense 1), OF. Tervagan; cf. It. Trivigante.]
   1. An imaginary being supposed by the Christians to be a
      Moslem deity or false god. He is represented in the
      ancient moralities, farces, and puppet shows as extremely
      vociferous and tumultous. [Obs.] --Chaucer. "And
      oftentimes by Termagant and Mahound [Mahomet] swore."
      --Spenser.
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            The lesser part on Christ believed well,
            On Termagant the more, and on Mahound. --Fairfax.
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   2. A boisterous, brawling, turbulent person; -- formerly
      applied to both sexes, now only to women.
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            This terrible termagant, this Nero, this Pharaoh.
                                                  --Bale (1543).
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            The slave of an imperious and reckless termagant.
                                                  --Macaulay.
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80 Moby Thesaurus words for "termagant":
      Jezebel, Mafioso, Xanthippe, Young Turk, amazon, battle-ax, beast,
      beldam, berserk, berserker, bitch, bitch-kitty, boisterous, bomber,
      brute, cat, common scold, demon, devil, disorderly, dragon, fiend,
      fire-eater, firebrand, fishwife, fury, goon, gorilla, grimalkin,
      gunsel, hag, hardnose, harpy, hell-raiser, hellcat, hellhag,
      hellhound, hellion, holy terror, hood, hoodlum, hothead, hotspur,
      incendiary, killer, limitable, mad dog, madcap, monster, mugger,
      ogress, rapist, raucous, revolutionary, rowdy, rowdyish,
      rumbustious, savage, scold, she-devil, she-wolf, shrew, siren,
      spitfire, terror, terrorist, tiger, tigress, tough, tough guy,
      tumultuous, ugly customer, unruly, violent, virago, vixen,
      wild beast, wildcat, witch, wolf