Synonyms of harridan

harridan

noun

ˈher-ə-dən 

as in shrew

a bad-tempered scolding woman

the film portrays the figure skater's mother as a strict and controlling harridan

Synonyms & Similar Words

• shrew
• termagant
• virago
• harpy
• vixen
• battle-ax
• critic
• fury
• dragon lady
• fishwife
• gorgon
• scold
• nitpicker
• faultfinder
• detractor
• railer
• carper
• censurer
• quibbler
• castigator
• caviler
• pettifogger
• derider
• belittler

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of harridan

Into this vacuum, a misogynistic sense of her as a harridan or a drug-using flake emerged. — Daniel D'addario, Variety, 3 Feb. 2026

Given its plotting, Brooks’s movie could easily have made Iris into a harridan and Isaac into a sociopathic rogue. — Graham Hillard, The Washington Examiner, 15 Aug. 2025

As written, and as played quite winningly by Siff, Silverman’s Tekla is neither a kitten nor a harridan. — Jesse Green, New York Times, 19 May 2025

The subtext throughout is that Tendler is a harridan, a domineering scold. — Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 16 Aug. 2024

Richard Millet became a kind of referendum on what wasn’t yet termed cancel culture, with Ernaux denounced as a harridan intent on enforcing politically correct censorship at the expense of a man’s career. — Alexandra Schwartz, The New Yorker, 14 Nov. 2022