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
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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
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Recent Examples of harpies
In the right-wing imagination, these women are acting like harpies — an epithet often seen online — when they’re supposed to be helpmeets.
—
Michelle Goldberg, Mercury News, 20 Jan. 2026
Think a front desk hewn from Dionysos marble and sconces in the shape of harpies.
—Sam Cochran, Architectural Digest, 11 Aug. 2025
Michelle Goldberg, Mercury News, 20 Jan. 2026
Think a front desk hewn from Dionysos marble and sconces in the shape of harpies.
—Sam Cochran, Architectural Digest, 11 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for harpies
Noun
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The tiny bodies of weasels, shrews and bats burn energy so fast that skipping even one meal can mean starvation.—
Leonie Baier,
The Conversation,
27 Feb. 2026
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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
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These deep-ocean predators swim through near-freezing Arctic waters at a pace that barely registers.—
Samantha Agate,
Miami Herald,
31 Mar. 2026
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Continue reading … DOUBLE ENFORCEMENT — ICE busts MS-13 gang member and child predators while helping TSA out.—
,
FOXNews.com,
31 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Celebrate the endless oblivion of eternal night with an evening that recreates the city’s ethereal relationship with vampires in all their forms on this most hallowed of dates.—
William Earl,
Variety,
25 Mar. 2026
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There’s energy vampires that suck the energy out of a room.—
Matt Young,
Houston Chronicle,
20 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The Yurok Tribe is leading the effort to bring the large, endangered vultures back to their historic homeland in Humboldt and Del Norte counties.—
Lila Seidman,
Los Angeles Times,
12 Mar. 2026
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To show their enduring affection, mated pairs of vultures synchronize their flight patterns, touch their beaks together in what looks like a kiss and entwine their long necks.—
K. R. Callaway,
Scientific American,
13 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Harpies.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/harpies. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
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