as in harridan
a bad-tempered scolding woman
Rip Van Winkle went off into the mountains to escape his wife, a shrew who made his life miserable
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of shrew
Especially early on in the campaign, when I was being attacked as being angry, a shrew, demeaning my husband — all these labels were coming in on me that were essentially trying to rob me of that femininity.
—
Janine Rubenstein, PEOPLE, 28 Oct. 2025
The 2025 list of extinctions includes a bird, a shrew and a species of snail, among others.
—Doyle Rice, USA Today, 18 Oct. 2025
The shrew is one of these mammals, according to the study.
—Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 27 Aug. 2025
The elephant shrew genus Macroscelides was the sole exception, shifting to omnivory after adopting myrmecophagy during the Eocene.
—Rupendra Brahambhatt, ArsTechnica, 20 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shrew
Janine Rubenstein, PEOPLE, 28 Oct. 2025
The 2025 list of extinctions includes a bird, a shrew and a species of snail, among others.
—Doyle Rice, USA Today, 18 Oct. 2025
The shrew is one of these mammals, according to the study.
—Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 27 Aug. 2025
The elephant shrew genus Macroscelides was the sole exception, shifting to omnivory after adopting myrmecophagy during the Eocene.
—Rupendra Brahambhatt, ArsTechnica, 20 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shrew
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shrew
Noun
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Into this vacuum, a misogynistic sense of her as a harridan or a drug-using flake emerged.—
Daniel D'Addario,
Variety,
3 Feb. 2026
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Given its plotting, Brooks’s movie could easily have made Iris into a harridan and Isaac into a sociopathic rogue.—
Graham Hillard,
The Washington Examiner,
15 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Rather than returning to a patient Penelope, Rip has fled the termagant Dame Van Winkle.—
John Swansburg,
The Atlantic,
10 Oct. 2025
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But the film belongs to Moreno, clearly relishing the chance to play an unapologetic termagant.—
David Rooney,
The Hollywood Reporter,
13 Mar. 2022
Noun
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The novel’s two-part structure mirrors its central relationship: Jude, a drug-loving 1980s video vixen who soars too close to the sun, and Winnie, the best friend who remains after everything collapses and eventually begins to unravel the truth behind Jude’s disappearance.—
Mariella Rudi,
Los Angeles Times,
1 June 2026
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But where the original video vixen era prioritized physical spectacle and often reduced its subjects to aesthetic objects, this new wave is about intentional community-building.—
Olivia Shalhoup,
Forbes.com,
20 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Like most eagles, the aviary says the female harpy is significantly larger than the male — sometimes twice the size.—
Madeline Bartos,
CBS News,
28 May 2026
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And because harpies rely on large emergent trees for nesting and an extensive, continuous canopy for hunting, even partial deforestation will severely disrupt their ability to breed and forage.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes.com,
17 May 2026
Noun
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Chait narrowly averted a three-union strike in April with agreements that restored labor peace — but left critics questioning whether the school system could afford the pact, and whether Carvalho would have held out for a more affordable deal.—
Howard Blume,
Los Angeles Times,
22 June 2026
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Saturday’s result in Kansas City — along with Cape Verde’s scoreless tie against Spain — may silence critics.—
Blair Kerkhoff,
Kansas City Star,
21 June 2026
Noun
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Skin is important here, not just its color but its texture as Josephine, for example, goes from elegant sophisticate to sweaty, sunburned, frizzy virago increasingly swollen with pregnancy and angry mosquito bites.—
Jessica Kiang,
Variety,
25 Aug. 2023
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Meredith is a stereotypical virago updated with modern libertarian notions.—
Charles McNulty,
Los Angeles Times,
5 July 2023
Noun
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The poem that precedes it, the Iliad, is a cruel and beautiful work, the ultimate story of war; the Odyssey has its warlike passages, but its central energies seem almost commonplace beside the merciless fury of Achilles.—
David Denby,
New Yorker,
21 June 2026
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Eventually, Nomkhitha’s exhaustion and fury at having her home violated overpowered her fear.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
16 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shrew.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shrew. Accessed 24 Jun. 2026.
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