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Karen Common

Karen has 6 different meanings across 2 categories:

Noun · Proper Noun

Definitions
Noun
1

the Tibeto-Burman language spoken in the Thailand and Burmese borderlands

"The Karen people have long used their Karen language as a means of communication across the Thailand and Burmese borderlands."

2

A middle-aged white woman exhibiting a sense of entitlement or white privilege.

"After demanding to speak to the manager about a misplaced item, he muttered that she was being such a karen."

3

Alternative letter-case form of Karen (“(derogatory) any person, especially female, exhibiting an exaggerated sense of entitlement”)

In plain English: A Karen is someone who acts entitled and demands special treatment from others, especially service workers.

"The angry customer was called Karen by everyone else in the store when she demanded to speak to the manager about nothing at all."

Proper Noun
1

A female given name from Ancient Greek.

"The Karen people speak several distinct languages, but they are collectively part of the Karen language family found in Myanmar and Thailand."

2

One of the seven great Parthian feudal families.

3

A group of languages of Myanmar and Thailand.

Example Sentences
"The angry customer was called Karen by everyone else in the store when she demanded to speak to the manager about nothing at all." noun
"The store manager called security because the shopper demanded to speak to Karen." noun
"Neighbors often joke about calling a loud party planner a karen when she invites herself over." noun
"He felt like such a karen for refusing to listen during the team meeting." noun
Related Terms
Broader Terms (hypernyms)
Tibeto-Burman

Origin

The word karen originates from the Danish version of the name Catherine, which became common in medieval Denmark. Its modern meaning as a term for an entitled middle-aged woman emerged when the name gained popularity among baby boomers and Gen Xers before being adopted into African-American Vernacular English to describe such behavior derogatorily.

Rhyming Words
ren tren fren oren wren dren bren uren aren loren ehren ceren goren viren koren buren hiren doren baren keren
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