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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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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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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Opening arguments begin on Monday in a high-profile trial brought by the state of New Mexico against Meta, which allegedly failed to safeguard apps like Facebook and Instagram from online predators who targeted child users, according to Raúl Torrez, the state's attorney general.—
Jonathan Vanian,
CNBC,
9 Feb. 2026
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Roblox is facing nearly 80 active lawsuits as attorneys general around the country investigate the popular game, with some parents alleging their children encountered predators through the platform.—
James Powel,
USA Today,
9 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Written by Port and Wiseman, Eternally Yours is an eternal love story about two vampires, Liz (Edwards) and Charles (Weeks), who have been married for five hundred years, and their struggles to accept the human, Max (Lewison), who is dating their daughter, Emma (Shen).—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
9 Feb. 2026
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And not just any vampires, but singing vampires!—
Dalton Ross,
Entertainment Weekly,
5 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Dumars insists on following the Miami-Dade Police Department rulebook by counting all the money at the scene, and the thriller quickly becomes a race against time as parties with vested interests in the stash house begin to circle like vultures.—
Brian Davids,
HollywoodReporter,
20 Jan. 2026
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Roman, Romulus, Remus were all offspring contenders—but then the money-vultures on Succession put the kibosh on that.—
Raven Smith,
Vogue,
20 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Harpies.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/harpies. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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