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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of shrew
The elephant shrew genus Macroscelides was the sole exception, shifting to omnivory after adopting myrmecophagy during the Eocene.
—
Rupendra Brahambhatt, ArsTechnica, 20 Aug. 2025
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
And the team has since published the complete genomic coding sequences for the new virus – Gainesville shrew mammalian orthoreovirus type 3 strain UF-1.
—New Atlas, 14 July 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for shrew
Rupendra Brahambhatt, ArsTechnica, 20 Aug. 2025
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
And the team has since published the complete genomic coding sequences for the new virus – Gainesville shrew mammalian orthoreovirus type 3 strain UF-1.
—New Atlas, 14 July 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for shrew
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shrew
Noun
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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
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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
Noun
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Rather than returning to a patient Penelope, Rip has fled the termagant Dame Van Winkle.—
John Swansburg,
The Atlantic,
10 Oct. 2025
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But the film belongs to Moreno, clearly relishing the chance to play an unapologetic termagant.—
David Rooney,
The Hollywood Reporter,
13 Mar. 2022
Noun
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This was the case everywhere from her video vixen days—think: Heavy D and Big Daddy Kane music videos—to the red carpet, and more.—
Essence,
Essence,
15 Dec. 2025
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The model is a vintage vixen in an archival gold sequin Elie Saab gown.—
Brittany Talarico,
PEOPLE,
4 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Think a front desk hewn from Dionysos marble and sconces in the shape of harpies.—
Sam Cochran,
Architectural Digest,
11 Aug. 2025
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For those guys, mothers are either harpies or sirens—villains or traps.—
Helen Shaw,
The New Yorker,
2 May 2024
Noun
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Then, Hayes was accused of being a sore loser by critics.—
Megan Feringa,
New York Times,
9 Nov. 2025
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The Cannes-premiering film rates higher with critics than audiences so far but is the biggest ever box office for director Lynne Ramsey and an awards-season magnet for star Jennifer Lawrence’s career-defining performance.—
Jill Goldsmith,
Deadline,
9 Nov. 2025
Noun
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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
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Meredith is a stereotypical virago updated with modern libertarian notions.—
Charles McNulty,
Los Angeles Times,
5 July 2023
Noun
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By contrast, Eugenia condemns herself to a future of festering tension and fury.—
Rachel Vorona Cote,
The Atlantic,
5 Jan. 2026
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The Utah transfer’s long-range bucket sparked a fury of offensive firepower – the Bruins ended the second quarter on a 16-2 run to lead the Trojans (10-4, 2-1) by 15 points at halftime.—
Benjamin Royer,
Daily News,
4 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shrew.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shrew. Accessed 11 Jan. 2026.
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