harridan
/ˈhæɹ.ɪ.dən/noun
harridan is spelled H-A-R-R-I-D-A-N: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 20 million words in written English, the 136,649th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, harridan means “A vicious and scolding woman, especially an older one” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of harridan is harridans.
How many letters and syllables are in harridan?
| Letters | 8: H-A-R-R-I-D-A-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 20 million words; the 136,649th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is harridan?
Harridan appears about once in every 20 million words in written English, the 136,649th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce harridan?
- UK /ˈhæɹ.ɪ.dən/
- US /ˈhæɹ.ɪ.dən/
- US /ˈhɛɹ.ɪ.dən/
Harridan has 3 syllables (counted from the pronunciation).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-harridan.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of harridan
- harridans plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does harridan mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A vicious and scolding woman, especially an older one.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Harridan in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense vicious and scolding woman:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | harpie, dragon, virago, haridelle, mégère, xanthippe |
| German | Drache (alter Drachen m), Xanthippe, Hexe, Vettel |
| Spanish | vieja gruñona, arpía |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does harridan come from?
Perhaps a modification of French haridelle (“old horse, nag”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).