shrew

1 of 2

noun

ˈshrü 

 especially Southern  ˈsrü

1

: any of a family (Soricidae) of small chiefly nocturnal insectivores related to the moles and distinguished by a long pointed snout, very small eyes, and short velvety fur

2

: an ill-tempered scolding woman

shrewlike

ˈshrü-ˌlīk 

adjective

shrew

2 of 2

verb

shrewed; shrewing; shrews

transitive verb

obsolete

: curse

Synonyms

Noun

• harridan
• battle-axe
• termagant
• vixen
• harpy
• critic
• virago
• fury
• battle-ax

Examples of shrew in a Sentence

Noun

Rip Van Winkle went off into the mountains to escape his wife, a shrew who made his life miserable.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

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

In animal studies, TDN helped obese mice and musk shrews lose weight and become more responsive to insulin. —Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 5 Aug. 2025

And the team has since published the complete genomic coding sequences for the new virus – Gainesville shrew mammalian orthoreovirus type 3 strain UF-1. —New Atlas, 14 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English shrewe evil or scolding person, from Old English scrēawa shrew (animal)

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing shrew

• tree shrew

Rhymes for shrew

• blew
• blue
• boo
• brew
• chew
• chou
• clue
• coo
• coup
• crew
• cue
• dew

Kids Definition

shrew

noun

ˈshrü

1

: any of numerous small mammals that are related to the moles, are active mostly at night, and have a long pointed snout, very small eyes, and velvety fur

2

: a scolding or bad-tempered woman

shrewish

ˈshrü-ish

adjective