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
For those guys, mothers are either harpies or sirens—villains or traps.
—
Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 2 May 2024
This is her name for the seventh circle of hell from Dante’s Inferno, where the souls of those who’ve committed suicide become trees, and harpies peck at them for all eternity.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 21 Nov. 2023
Karen is, of course, the generic name for the ubiquitous American harpy who, through the long summer of 2020, pitched fits about masks and sometimes about race, in public spaces.
—Virginia Heffernan, Wired, 18 Aug. 2020
Others portrayed her as a harpy, a notoriously disagreeable mythical beast that was half bird-of-prey, half woman.
—The Economist, 9 Nov. 2019
See All Example Sentences for harpy
Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 2 May 2024
This is her name for the seventh circle of hell from Dante’s Inferno, where the souls of those who’ve committed suicide become trees, and harpies peck at them for all eternity.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 21 Nov. 2023
Karen is, of course, the generic name for the ubiquitous American harpy who, through the long summer of 2020, pitched fits about masks and sometimes about race, in public spaces.
—Virginia Heffernan, Wired, 18 Aug. 2020
Others portrayed her as a harpy, a notoriously disagreeable mythical beast that was half bird-of-prey, half woman.
—The Economist, 9 Nov. 2019
See All Example Sentences for harpy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for harpy
Noun
-
See page 8 to order a shrew for $29, plus shipping and handling.—
Jeff Wilson,
Outdoor Life,
11 Mar. 2026
-
Because for the most part, Caroline comes off as a rigid uptight shrew.—
Lisa DePaulo,
HollywoodReporter,
27 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Without natural predators to keep the deer population in balance, the deer population first exploded.—
Mark VanderSchaaf,
Twin Cities,
18 May 2026
-
In November, a shark killed a woman and seriously wounded a man at a national park beach on Australia's east coast in a rare instance of the predator attacking two people.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
18 May 2026
Noun
-
However, when stars have a binary partner, white dwarfs can spring back to life like cosmic vampires by stripping material off these companion stars.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
12 May 2026
-
Like vampire Lucy, the kuntilanak is a selfish creature.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 May 2026
Noun
-
Tell the vultures that this is a no-feed zone?—
Adam England,
PEOPLE,
15 May 2026
-
The scene has turned into a vulture’s paradise.—
Joe Kinsey OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
15 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Harpy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/harpy. Accessed 24 May. 2026.
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