name
Meaning 1
A female given name from Danish.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
Karen
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
-
/ˈkæɹən/ without the Mary–marry–merry merger
-
Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
-
/ˈkɛɹən/ Mary–marry–merry merger
-
General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
-
rhymes with -æɹən
-
rhymes with -ɛɹən
-
rhymes with -ɛə(ɹ)n
-
homophone: caron
-
homophone: caring (weak vowel merger, g-dropping)
-
homophone: cairn
-
homophone: carn (some American accents)
-
/kəˈɹɛn/
-
Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
-
Canada: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
-
pin-pen-merger: /kəˈɹɪ̟n/
-
rhymes with -ɛn
-
CMU ARPABET: K EH1 R AH0 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
name
Meaning 2
One of the seven great Parthian feudal families.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: historical
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
name
Meaning 3
A transliteration of the Armenian male given name Կարեն (Karen).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
name
Meaning 4
A group of Sino-Tibetan languages spoken by people of the Karen ethnic group, also called Karenic.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
name
Meaning 5
Former name of Kayin (“state (administrative division) of Myanmar”).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 6
A middle-aged white woman who exhibits a strong sense of white privilege and entitlement—often rooted in racism against minority races—and frequently targets or antagonizes individuals who face greater societal challenges or must work significantly harder than she.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: derogatory, slang
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: anti-Karen
noun
Meaning 7
Any person, especially female, exhibiting an exaggerated sense of entitlement.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: broadly, derogatory
Examples
- This Karen threatened to get me fired if I didn't give her a free meal.
- 2021 Adam Korson as Phil Orley in "Ft. Ghost Child", episode five of SurrealEstate The organization wasn't meeting my needs, so I became a total Karen and asked to see the manager. He wasn't available so I took my business elsewhere.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 8
A member of a diverse ethnic group originating in Myanmar and Thailand.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: Kayin
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 9
Alternative letter-case form of Karen (“(derogatory) any person, especially female, exhibiting an exaggerated sense of entitlement”).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: alt-of
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 10
the Tibeto-Burman language spoken in the Thailand and Burmese borderlands
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: Karenic
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: Tibeto-Burman, Tibeto-Burman language
History
Etymology
From Danish Karen, a vernacular form of Catherine that arose in medieval Denmark. The sense "middle-aged woman" comes from the popularity of the name among baby boomers and Gen-Xers. The derogatory usage was popularized via African-American Vernacular English.
From Parthian 𐭊𐭓𐭍𐭉 (krny /Kārēn/), from Old Iranian. The Armenian name is from Armenian Կարեն (Karen), from the same Parthian name.
From Burmese ကရင် (ka.rang), of disputed origin.
Across languages
Translations
44 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- French: Karin — female given name
- French: Carin — female given name
- French: Carine — female given name
- French: Karine — female given name
- French: Karyne — female given name
- Greek: Κάρεν (Káren) — female given name
- Hebrew: קֶרֶן (Kéren) — female given name
- Marathi: कॅरेन (kĕren) — female given name
- Portuguese: Karen — female given name
- Russian: Ка́рен (Kárɛn) — female given name
- Old Armenian: Կարենի պահլաւ (Kareni pahlaw) — one of the seven great Parthian feudal families
- Ancient Greek: Καρανος (Karanos) — one of the seven great Parthian feudal families
- Latin: Carenes — one of the seven great Parthian feudal families
- Parthian: 𐭊𐭓𐭍𐭉 — one of the seven great Parthian feudal families
- Persian: قارن (qâran) — one of the seven great Parthian feudal families
- Persian: کارن (kâren) — one of the seven great Parthian feudal families
- Middle Persian: 𐭪𐭠𐭫𐭭𐭩 (kʾlny) — one of the seven great Parthian feudal families
- Armenian: Կարեն — Armenian male given name
- Old Armenian: Կարէն (Karēn) — Armenian male given name
- Persian: کارن (kâren) — Armenian male given name
- Russian: Каре́н (Karén) — Armenian male given name
- Chinese Mandarin: 克倫語 /克伦语 (kèlúnyǔ) — group of languages
- Finnish: kareni — group of languages
- French: karen — group of languages
- S'gaw Karen: ကညီ (ka nyaw) — group of languages
- Cebuano: Linda — stereotypical woman
- Chinese Mandarin: 大媽 /大妈 (dàmā) — stereotypical woman
- French: Karen — stereotypical woman
- Malay: mak cik kiah — stereotypical woman
- Polish: Karyna — stereotypical woman
- Polish: Grażyna — stereotypical woman
- Russian: хабалка (khabalka) — stereotypical woman
- Russian: тупая пизда (tupaya pizda) — stereotypical woman
- Thai: มนุษย์ป้า (má-nút-bpâa) — stereotypical woman
- Burmese: ကရင် (ka.rang) — member of an ethnic group
- Chinese Mandarin: 克倫人 /克伦人 (kèlúnrén) — member of an ethnic group
- Chinese Mandarin: 克伦人 (kèlúnrén) — member of an ethnic group
- Chinese Mandarin: 克倫族 /克伦族 (kèlúnzú) — member of an ethnic group
- Chinese Mandarin: 克伦族 (kèlúnzú) — member of an ethnic group
- Finnish: kareni — member of an ethnic group
- French: karen — member of an ethnic group
- S'gaw Karen: ကညီ (ka nyaw) — member of an ethnic group
- Mon: ကရေင် — member of an ethnic group
- Thai: กะเหรี่ยง (gà-rìiang) — member of an ethnic group
Real reading context