termagant
ter·mag·ant/ˈtɜɹməɡənt/noun, adjective
termagant is spelled T-E-R-M-A-G-A-N-T: 9 letters and 3 syllables (ter·mag·ant). It appears about once in every 40 million words in written English, the 194,306th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a derogatory noun, termagant means “A censorious, nagging, and quarrelsome woman; a scold, a shrew” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of termagant is termagants.
How many letters and syllables are in termagant?
| Letters | 9: T-E-R-M-A-G-A-N-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: ter·mag·ant |
| In writing | about once in every 40 million words; the 194,306th 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 termagant?
Termagant appears about once in every 40 million words in written English, the 194,306th 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 termagant?
- UK /ˈtɜːməɡ(ə)nt/
- US /ˈtɜɹməɡənt/
Termagant has 3 syllables, split ter·mag·ant in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-termagant.oga, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of termagant
- termagants plural
- termigant
- more termagant comparative
- most termagant superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does termagant mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
archaicA brawling, boisterous, and turbulent person or thing.
- 2
derogatoryA censorious, nagging, and quarrelsome woman; a scold, a shrew.
adjective
- 1
archaicHaving the temperament of a termagant (noun sense 1); bad-tempered, brawling, boisterous, turbulent.
- 2
derogatoryOf a woman, her behaviour, etc.: censorious, nagging, and quarrelsome; scolding, shrewish.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Termagant in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense censorious, nagging, and quarrelsome woman – see also shrew:
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.