Resembling or characteristic of a hen in appearance, behavior, or manner; bird-like or chicken-like.
Compound of 'hen' + '-like' (Old English -lic, meaning resembling or having the character of), a productive suffix for making adjectives.
The suffix '-like' is so useful that English speakers instantly understand henlike, chimpanzee-like, robot-like—it's a flexible way to create adjectives without needing to learn new words!
Metaphorically equates hen behavior (clucking, clustering, brooding) with undesirable human traits—often femininity, fussiness, or herd mentality.
Avoid; describe actual traits ('fussy', 'clustering', 'brooding') without animal-gendered metaphor.
["fussy","clustering","brooding"]
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