1
as in shrews
a bad-tempered scolding woman
in fairy tales stepmothers are often portrayed as harpies who make the lives of their stepchildren miserable
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in predators
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of harpies
Think a front desk hewn from Dionysos marble and sconces in the shape of harpies.
—
Sam Cochran, Architectural Digest, 11 Aug. 2025
Sam Cochran, Architectural Digest, 11 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for harpies
Noun
-
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
Noun
-
There have been more than 1,280 shark incidents around Australia since 1791, of which more than 250 resulted in death, according to a database of the predators' encounters with humans.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
20 Jan. 2026
-
However, these important apex predators eventually returned.—
Lisa Bloch,
Mercury News,
20 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Its lead character is Harry Dresden, a professional wizard operating out of the city of Chicago in a world where ghouls, ghosts, werewolves and vampires exist in the shadows of modern society.—
Erik Pedersen,
Oc Register,
21 Jan. 2026
-
Which raises the question, if ENHYPEN are the vampires, how do ENGENE fit in?—
Jae-Ha Kim,
Rolling Stone,
19 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Dozens of vultures died of bird flu in Amelia.—
Matthew Cupelli,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
5 Dec. 2025
-
Black vultures circled overhead.—
Kendall Hunter,
Travel + Leisure,
17 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Harpies.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/harpies. Accessed 22 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
