Word.ws English Dictionary

the lady doth protest too much

the lady doth protest too much phrase: it is suspected that, because someone is insisting too much about something, the opposite of what they're saying must be true.

Phrase

the lady doth protest too much

  1. It is suspected that, because someone is insisting too much about something, the opposite of what they're saying must be true.
    • In all Penelope's devotion to her husband there is an ever present sense that the lady doth protest too much.1897, Samuel Butler, The Authoress of the Odyssey

the lady doth protest too much meaning in Arabic

the lady doth protest too much in Arabic

because someone is insisting too much about something, the opposite must be true
السَّيِّدَة تَعْتَرِضُ أَكْثَر مِن اللَّازِم

Forms of the lady doth protest too much

alternative formthe lady doth protest too much, methinks
alternative formmethinks the lady doth protest too much
alternative formmethinks thou dost protest too much

Origin of the lady doth protest too much

An allusion to Shakespeare's Hamlet, where the line is spoken by Queen Gertrude, Hamlet's mother. In the play, "protest" is used to mean "insist that what one is saying is true" (in this case, the Player Queen's protestations of love), not "insist that what another is saying is false."

Words formed from the lady doth protest too much

Questions about the lady doth protest too much

What does the lady doth protest too much mean?
The lady doth protest too much means it is suspected that, because someone is insisting too much about something, the opposite of what they're saying must be true.
What is the lady doth protest too much in Arabic?
The lady doth protest too much in Arabic is السَّيِّدَة تَعْتَرِضُ أَكْثَر مِن اللَّازِم. See The lady doth protest too much meaning in Arabic.
What part of speech is the lady doth protest too much?
The lady doth protest too much is a phrase.

Words near the lady doth protest too much in the dictionary

  1. The Kingfish
  2. The Klondike
  3. the knives are out
  4. the laborer is worthy of his hire
  5. the labourer is worthy of his hire
  6. the lady doth protest too much
  7. the lady doth protest too much, methinks
  8. The Lagoon
  9. the last day
  10. the last favour
  11. the last I heard

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: the lady doth protest too much (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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