madwoman

noun

mad·​wom·​an ˈmad-ˌwu̇-mən How to pronounce madwoman (audio)
: a woman who is or acts as if insane

Examples of madwoman in a Sentence

She is a madwoman on the dance floor.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Manhunt has offered suggestion after suggestion that Mary Todd Lincoln’s madwoman reputation is a distortion of history by depicting the ways she and, by extension, all women were sidelined and condescended to. Keith Phipps, Vulture, 19 Apr. 2024 Lili Taylor’s performance does not summon up the madwoman Mary is sometimes depicted as being, and the series depicts Elizabeth Keckley (Get Out’s Betty Gabriel), Mary’s friend — a renowned seamstress and, later, author — as a kind of tempering influence. Keith Phipps, Vulture, 15 Mar. 2024 Steeped in fascinating tidbits about her life, Swift recounts how Harkness, who inherited the riches from her oil tycoon husband’s untimely death and even became the richest woman in America at one point, was considered an outcast and a madwoman for her unconventional choices and lavish lifestyle. Samantha Cooney, TIME, 16 Apr. 2024 Though the role of the madwoman has long been central to the operatic imagination, the conditions and attitudes faced by Nellie Bly — dismissal, doubt, bias and abuse — remain pervasive realities for woman confronting trauma today. Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 22 Sep. 2023 See all Example Sentences for madwoman 

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of madwoman was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near madwoman

Cite this Entry

“Madwoman.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/madwoman. Accessed 14 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

madwoman

noun
mad·​wom·​an ˈmad-ˌwu̇m-ən How to pronounce madwoman (audio)
: a woman who is or who acts as if mentally unsound
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