1
as in shrew
a bad-tempered scolding woman
in fairy tales stepmothers are often portrayed as harpies who make the lives of their stepchildren miserable
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2
as in predator
a person who habitually preys upon others
having just started to make it really big in the music business, he found himself surrounded by a flock of harpies greedy for a piece of the action
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of harpy
Think a front desk hewn from Dionysos marble and sconces in the shape of harpies.
—
Sam Cochran,
Architectural Digest,
11 Aug. 2025
For those guys, mothers are either harpies or sirens—villains or traps.
—
Helen Shaw,
The New Yorker,
2 May 2024
This is her name for the seventh circle of hell from Dante’s Inferno, where the souls of those who’ve committed suicide become trees, and harpies peck at them for all eternity.
—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
21 Nov. 2023
Karen is, of course, the generic name for the ubiquitous American harpy who, through the long summer of 2020, pitched fits about masks and sometimes about race, in public spaces.
—
Virginia Heffernan,
Wired,
18 Aug. 2020
See All Example Sentences for harpy
Sam Cochran,
Architectural Digest,
11 Aug. 2025
For those guys, mothers are either harpies or sirens—villains or traps.
—
Helen Shaw,
The New Yorker,
2 May 2024
This is her name for the seventh circle of hell from Dante’s Inferno, where the souls of those who’ve committed suicide become trees, and harpies peck at them for all eternity.
—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
21 Nov. 2023
Karen is, of course, the generic name for the ubiquitous American harpy who, through the long summer of 2020, pitched fits about masks and sometimes about race, in public spaces.
—
Virginia Heffernan,
Wired,
18 Aug. 2020
See All Example Sentences for harpy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for harpy
Noun
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These are important tools used for both feeding and building their dens and digging for other menu items such as mice, gophers, voles and shrews.
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See page 8 to order a shrew for $29, plus shipping and handling.
Noun
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In Britain, all the large predators had long since been exterminated and the smaller ones (like foxes) were ruthlessly persecuted.
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Adorned with almost graphically violent labels showcasing alpha predators -- a shark, a grizzly, an orca, a lion and some sort of particularly angry bird of prey -- the bottles are a far cry from the placid villas and languorous ladies plastered across so many wines.
Noun
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Like Lestat explains, there are levels of enjoyment for a vampire.
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Jones first floated the idea of rock star Lestat while the team filmed Season 2 in Prague in 2023, giving Wood time to begin imagining what a nearly 300-year-old vampire might wear while reinventing himself as a singer.
Noun
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There are pink flamingos, then, but also many vultures circling the southern Adriatic.
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Moreover, the official mascots succeed in spotting various varmints — foxes and possums, to be specific, but thankfully, no vultures.
Cite this Entry
“Harpy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/harpy. Accessed 26 Jun. 2026.
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