henpeck

henpeck
henpeck hen"peck`, hen-peck hen"-peck`, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Henpecked}; p. pr. & vb. {Henpecking}.] To bother persistently with trivial complaints; to subject to petty authority; -- said of a woman who thus treats her male companion, especially of wives who thus dominate their husbands. Commonly used in the past participle (often adjectively); as, henpecked for years, he finally left her. [1913 Webster +PJC]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • henpeck — [hen′pek΄] vt. to nag and domineer over (one s husband) henpecked adj. * * * hen·peck (hĕnʹpĕk ) tr.v. Informal hen·pecked, hen·peck·ing, hen·pecks To dominate or harass (one s husband) with persistent nagging …   Universalium

  • henpeck — [v] nag badger, berate, bother, bug*, bully, carp, fuss, give a hard time*, harass, hector, hound, intimidate, irritate, needle, pester, pick on*, ride, scold, torment; concepts 7,19,52 …   New thesaurus

  • henpeck — ► VERB (usu. as adj. henpecked) ▪ (of a woman) continually criticize and order about (her husband) …   English terms dictionary

  • henpeck — [hen′pek΄] vt. to nag and domineer over (one s husband) henpecked adj …   English World dictionary

  • henpeck — transitive verb Date: 1671 to subject (one s husband) to persistent nagging and domination …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • henpeck — verb /ˈhɛn.pɛk/ To nag persistently. Oh! ye lords of ladies intellectual, / Inform us truly, have they not hen peckd you all? …   Wiktionary

  • henpeck — Synonyms and related words: beat down, break, browbeat, bug, bulldoze, bully, carp, carp at, castrate, cavil, clamp down on, coerce, compel, cow, daunt, despotize, domineer, domineer over, enslave, fret at, fuss, fuss at, grind, grind down,… …   Moby Thesaurus

  • henpeck — I (Roget s IV) v. Syn. bully, suppress, intimidate, nag; see bother 2 , threaten 1 . II (Roget s Thesaurus II) verb Informal. To scold or find fault with constantly: carp at, fuss at, nag, peck at, pick on. See PRAISE …   English dictionary for students

  • henpeck — v. (about a wife) intimidate or bully one s husband …   English contemporary dictionary

  • henpeck — verb [usu. as adjective henpecked] (of a woman) continually criticize and order about (her husband) …   English new terms dictionary

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