Thesaurus results for SHREW

shrew

noun

ˈshrü

Definition of shrew

as in harridan

a bad-tempered scolding woman Rip Van Winkle went off into the mountains to escape his wife, a shrew who made his life miserable

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of shrew See page 8 to order a shrew for $29, plus shipping and handling. — Jeff Wilson, Outdoor Life, 11 Mar. 2026 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 Because for the most part, Caroline comes off as a rigid uptight shrew. — Lisa Depaulo, HollywoodReporter, 27 Feb. 2026 Rats, cats, tree squirrels, manatees, harbor seals, sea otters, pole cats, shrews, tammar wallabies, sea lions, and naked mole-rats all share strikingly similar basic whisker anatomies, according to various prior studies. — ArsTechnica, 12 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for shrew

Recent Examples of Synonyms for shrew

Noun

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

Definition of harridan

Noun

Critics leapt at the chance to cast feminists as prudes and housewives as vixens.

— Jennifer Wilson, New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2026
But where the original video vixen era prioritized physical spectacle and often reduced its subjects to aesthetic objects, this new wave is about intentional community-building.

— Olivia Shalhoup, Forbes.com, 20 Apr. 2026

Definition of vixen

Noun

Like most eagles, the aviary says the female harpy is significantly larger than the male — sometimes twice the size.

— Madeline Bartos, CBS News, 28 May 2026
And because harpies rely on large emergent trees for nesting and an extensive, continuous canopy for hunting, even partial deforestation will severely disrupt their ability to breed and forage.

— Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 17 May 2026

Definition of harpy

Noun

No formal opposition argument was submitted against the measure, though at least one critic, the League of Women Voters, has said Proposition 37 would fail to confront racial barriers to wealth-building and lower overall costs for families.

— Richard Ramos, CBS News, 2 Nov. 2026
France became a cautionary tale, with critics often pointing to estimates that tens of thousands of millionaires left while its wealth tax was in place.

— Greg Rosalsky, NPR, 2 Nov. 2026

Definition of critic

Noun

Skin is important here, not just its color but its texture as Josephine, for example, goes from elegant sophisticate to sweaty, sunburned, frizzy virago increasingly swollen with pregnancy and angry mosquito bites.

— Jessica Kiang, Variety, 25 Aug. 2023
Meredith is a stereotypical virago updated with modern libertarian notions.

— Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 5 July 2023

Definition of virago

Noun

There’s a vast gulf between the fear and fury of New Yorkers and the indolence of many leaders, who continue to treat e-bikes as little more than a minor annoyance.

— Justin Davidson, Curbed, 5 Nov. 2026
As a most un-saintlike Mother Teresa, Dueñas gives voice to a seething, inconsolable fury, an assertion of pure, ferocious will, that exposes the preciousness of Ambrossi and Calvo’s poetic and structural conceits.

— Justin Chang, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2026

Definition of fury

Browse Nearby Words

shreds

shrew

shrewd

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Shrew.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shrew. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of shrew

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster on shrew

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

lissome

Popular in Grammar & Usage

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

31 Useful Rhetorical Devices

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Popular in Wordplay

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Longest Long Words List

The Words of the Week - Nov. 13

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

Popular

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes