What does henpecked mean?
Henpecked describes a person—especially a husband—habitually nagged or browbeaten by a spouse, with the implication that the spouse has gained a dominant influence. The term is vivid and unmistakably pejorative: it is not a neutral way of saying that someone receives advice. It is mainly informal or literary in tone, and its overt gendering reflects an older social stereotype in which nagging was associated with wives. In modern use, the expression can be humorous rather than literal, especially in the common phrase “a henpecked husband.” Henpecked is useful because it compresses marital friction, persistent criticism, and unequal control into a single colourful adjective, while also warning the reader that the relationship is being viewed from the supposedly submissive partner’s perspective.
adjectiveHabitually nagged or browbeaten by one's wife, and thus under her control.
- A person, especially a husband, who is persistently nagged or dominated by his wife.
"His neighbours joked that the henpecked husband had surrendered every decision to his wife."
"Everyone at the dinner table knew the henpecked husband would soon be dispatched to fetch his wife's coat."
"The novel portrays their marriage as a comic arrangement in which the henpecked husband controls the household only in appearance."
Henpecked packs an old-fashioned marital stereotype into one word: a husband nagged into submission.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does henpecked come from?
Henpecked is an early modern English formation built from hen and peck, with the older word peck meaning to strike or nibble with the beak. The compound’s image of repeated pecking came to suggest persistent nagging, and henpecked developed as the past-participle and adjective form of henpeck. The verb henpeck and noun henpecker belong to the same family, while peck, pecker, and peckish share the second element’s word-forming root.
Related word forms
How henpecked is actually used
Informal and usually pejorative. It is now often used jocularly, but remains explicitly gendered toward a man nagged by his wife; henpecking is the corresponding term for the nagger.
Easily confused with henpecked
Henpeck is the verb meaning to nag or pester, whereas henpecked is the adjective describing the person being nagged.