virago

\vi.ʁa.ɡo\

/\vi.ʁa.ɡo\/ noun

The verdict

“virago” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
6
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Femme autoritaire, grossière, rude. → voir dragon, gendarme, harpie, mégère.

Corpus desk

Index FR-virago · virago · French

virago · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "V" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for virago
PropertyValue
Headwordvirago
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\vi.ʁa.ɡo\
Letters6
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « virago » en français

viragoreste hors des 100.000 mots français les plus fréquents, dans la longue queue du vocabulaire technique, archaïque ou rare, là où le doute d'orthographe frappe.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

virago is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \vi.ʁa.ɡo\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for virago in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular French conventions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is virago, spelled V-I-R-A-G-O.

Definition

  1. 1
    Femme autoritaire, grossière, rude. → voir dragon, gendarme, harpie, mégère.
  2. 2
    Femme d’allure virile ou de comportement masculin.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how virago appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. La première personne qui s’aperçut de l’arrivée de l’étranger fut la sœur de la défunte, une grande virago à l’air dur et bas à la fois.
  2. J’étais alors si endurci par les abominations qui m’entouraient qui j’entendis, sans la moindre émotion, sa victime, le puma femelle, au début de cette nouvelle journée de torture, accueillir son persécuteur par un grognement presque tout à fait semblable à celui d’une virago en colère.

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "virago"?
"virago" is spelled V-I-R-A-G-O. The IPA pronunciation is \vi.ʁa.ɡo\.
What does "virago" mean?
As a noun, "virago" means: Femme autoritaire, grossière, rude. → voir dragon, gendarme, harpie, mégère.
How do you pronounce "virago"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "virago" is \vi.ʁa.ɡo\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "virago" come from?
"virago" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list