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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Example Sentences
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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
There are fairies and nymphs, unicorns, harpies, giants, ogres, trolls, Gollums and dragons.
—Patti Restivo, baltimoresun.com, 14 June 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
There are fairies and nymphs, unicorns, harpies, giants, ogres, trolls, Gollums and dragons.
—Patti Restivo, baltimoresun.com, 14 June 2019
See All Example Sentences for harpy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for harpy
Noun
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For the study, researchers looked at 1,376 vertebrate species known to eat some amount of carrion, ranging from tiger sharks and spotted hyenas to cane toads and common shrews.—
Sarah Kuta,
Smithsonian Magazine,
18 June 2025
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The music hall performer Belle Elmore was dismissed by the press as a vulgar shrew.—
Jennifer Wright,
New York Times,
25 Mar. 2025
Noun
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These predators typically patrol altitudes below 10,000 feet, especially around dawn when their prey begins flying again after nighttime rest.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes.com,
28 June 2025
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The reintroduced apex predators remained in watersheds just west of metro Denver, in areas that include Gilpin, Clear Creek and Jefferson counties, the map shows.—
Shelly Bradbury,
Denver Post,
27 June 2025
Noun
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As for Huart, the multi-hyphenate has become one of the more exciting up-and-coming filmmakers in the genre realm and recently won the Midnight Short Jury Award at SXSW 2024 for his modern vampire story Transylvanie.—
Justin Kroll,
Deadline,
17 June 2025
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This vampire isn't interested in the blood that runs through your veins, though.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
12 June 2025
Noun
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Suspect Charged in Plot to Bomb Taylor Swift Concert A Syrian teenager is accused of translating bomb-building instructions. vulture lists 4:00 p.m.—
Britina Cheng,
Vulture,
26 June 2025
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See rare sight In Poland’s Owl Mountains, a trail camera captured a Eurasian griffon vulture, a rare sighting for the area.—
Real-Time news team,
Miami Herald,
20 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Harpy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/harpy. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.
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