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
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
Leaf litter hosts life for hundreds of species: bacteria, ants, mushrooms, shrews.
—Marion Renault, The Atlantic, 13 May 2025
The music hall performer Belle Elmore was dismissed by the press as a vulgar shrew.
—Jennifer Wright, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2025
While native mammals span from the endemic Cretan lesser white-toothed shrew to the Blasius’s horseshoe bat, the preserve is perhaps best known for its high concentration of Cretan goats, a type of ruminant that serves as the official mascot of the park.
—Jared Ranahan, Forbes, 3 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shrew
Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 June 2025
Leaf litter hosts life for hundreds of species: bacteria, ants, mushrooms, shrews.
—Marion Renault, The Atlantic, 13 May 2025
The music hall performer Belle Elmore was dismissed by the press as a vulgar shrew.
—Jennifer Wright, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2025
While native mammals span from the endemic Cretan lesser white-toothed shrew to the Blasius’s horseshoe bat, the preserve is perhaps best known for its high concentration of Cretan goats, a type of ruminant that serves as the official mascot of the park.
—Jared Ranahan, Forbes, 3 Mar. 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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But the film belongs to Moreno, clearly relishing the chance to play an unapologetic termagant.—
David Rooney,
The Hollywood Reporter,
13 Mar. 2022
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Rita may be a bossy termagant, but her adoring Beppe appears to love being whacked around from time to time, so what’s the harm?—
John Von Rhein,
chicagotribune.com,
15 Apr. 2018
Noun
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The album’s campaign and editorial aesthetic has made references to everything from classic Grace Jones images to hair metal vixens.—
Brittany Spanos,
Rolling Stone,
11 Sep. 2025
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Some say she’s got the video vixen allure that would fit her seamlessly into the era over two decades later.—
Essence,
Essence,
6 Aug. 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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The book, published in 1997, took the form of love letters written by Kraus and her then husband, the literary critic Sylvère Lotringer, and addressed to his colleague Dick, later revealed to be Dick Hebdige, a scholar known for his work on subcultures.—
Jennifer Wilson,
New Yorker,
28 Sep. 2025
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The series is well-regarded by critics, who correctly hail it as a good starting point for little ones just now dipping their toes into Star Wars.—
Kevin Jacobsen,
Entertainment Weekly,
28 Sep. 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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Overcome with fury, the King announces his plan to slaughter anyone who was complicit, including his own grandmother.—
Kayti Burt,
Time,
29 Sep. 2025
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The recent decision to assault Gaza City, where a number of the 20 living hostages are believed to be held, only added to the fury on display on Sunday.—
Oren Liebermann,
CNN Money,
28 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Shrew.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shrew. Accessed 1 Oct. 2025.
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