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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Recent Examples of harpy
Others portrayed her as a harpy, a notoriously disagreeable mythical beast that was half bird-of-prey, half woman.
—
The Economist, 9 Nov. 2019
The clergy and royal courts in days of yore used images of griffins, hellmouths, harpies, dragons and sea swine to instill fear, to divide anxious populations, to assert dominance and control, and to ostracize non-Europeans.
—Steven Litt, cleveland.com, 1 Sep. 2019
Elizabeth Moss, as Claire, has based her career playing sad-sacks and harpies, in Mad Men, The Square, The Handmaid’s Tale, and Her Smell; so Moss is a comic actress by default.
—Armond White, National Review, 9 Aug. 2019
Those kinds of sentiments have multiplied on social media, which has exploded with memes in recent days calling the four everything from terrorists to harpies to cancer.
—Jeremy W. Peters, New York Times, 27 July 2019
See All Example Sentences for harpy
The Economist, 9 Nov. 2019
The clergy and royal courts in days of yore used images of griffins, hellmouths, harpies, dragons and sea swine to instill fear, to divide anxious populations, to assert dominance and control, and to ostracize non-Europeans.
—Steven Litt, cleveland.com, 1 Sep. 2019
Elizabeth Moss, as Claire, has based her career playing sad-sacks and harpies, in Mad Men, The Square, The Handmaid’s Tale, and Her Smell; so Moss is a comic actress by default.
—Armond White, National Review, 9 Aug. 2019
Those kinds of sentiments have multiplied on social media, which has exploded with memes in recent days calling the four everything from terrorists to harpies to cancer.
—Jeremy W. Peters, New York Times, 27 July 2019
See All Example Sentences for harpy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for harpy
Noun
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The shrew is one of these mammals, according to the study.—
Irene Wright,
Miami Herald,
27 Aug. 2025
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The elephant shrew genus Macroscelides was the sole exception, shifting to omnivory after adopting myrmecophagy during the Eocene.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
ArsTechnica,
20 Aug. 2025
Noun
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With this brush with a violent predator, the Season 1 premiere finds Morgan sheltering in place at home with her kids and her ex Ludo (Taran Killam) while a police officer watches over the house outside.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
17 Sep. 2025
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Cavefish keep their eggs and even sometimes young fish, in their mouth, a practice called mouth brooding that is thought to protect young cavefish from predators.—
Karl Schneider,
IndyStar,
17 Sep. 2025
Noun
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White is a record-breaking snowboarder, while Dobrev played Elena Gilbert and Katherine Pierce (the hottest vampire of all time and her doppelgänger) on The CW’s Vampire Diaries.—
Carrie Wittmer,
Glamour,
11 Sep. 2025
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The scene is set at the Salvatore Mansion between vampire bros Damon (Ian Somerhalder) and Stefan (Paul Wesley).—
Carson Blackwelder,
PEOPLE,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Photos show the hooded vulture chick in KwaZulu-Natal.—
Aspen Pflughoeft,
Miami Herald,
16 Sep. 2025
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One of vultures in a barren tree.—
Madison E. Goldberg,
PEOPLE,
15 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Harpy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/harpy. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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