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
The team also trapped three other species of shrew: the vagrant shrew, montane shrew and Merriam’s shrew.
—
Sara Hashemi, Smithsonian Magazine, 30 Jan. 2025
The trio ventured out into the eastern Sierra Nevada and captured six live Mount Lyell shrews (Sorex lyelli).
—Katie Hunt, CNN, 1 Feb. 2025
To photograph the shrews, the team had to work quickly.
—Sara Hashemi, Smithsonian Magazine, 30 Jan. 2025
By Issy Ronald |, CNN Momentarily pausing after eating some mealworms, an elusive shrew’s long snout pointed skywards, unaware of the historic portrait that had just been captured.
—Cnn.com, The Mercury News, 28 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shrew
Sara Hashemi, Smithsonian Magazine, 30 Jan. 2025
The trio ventured out into the eastern Sierra Nevada and captured six live Mount Lyell shrews (Sorex lyelli).
—Katie Hunt, CNN, 1 Feb. 2025
To photograph the shrews, the team had to work quickly.
—Sara Hashemi, Smithsonian Magazine, 30 Jan. 2025
By Issy Ronald |, CNN Momentarily pausing after eating some mealworms, an elusive shrew’s long snout pointed skywards, unaware of the historic portrait that had just been captured.
—Cnn.com, The Mercury News, 28 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shrew
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shrew
Noun
-
The subtext throughout is that Tendler is a harridan, a domineering scold.—
Sophie Gilbert,
The Atlantic,
16 Aug. 2024
-
And Day, with a face of expressive misery and the energy of an imploding firecracker, portrays her as a shrewd fusion of harridan and victim.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
16 Aug. 2024
Noun
-
But the film belongs to Moreno, clearly relishing the chance to play an unapologetic termagant.—
David Rooney,
The Hollywood Reporter,
13 Mar. 2022
-
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
-
However, Hernandez continued to pursue her despite knowing that the former video vixen is heterosexual.—
Mya Abraham,
VIBE.com,
3 Sep. 2019
-
Have no fear, as the love affair between Elvis impersonator Sailor Ripley and vivacious vixen Lula Fortune will also be showing at Prince Charles Cinema in London on Saturday, February 8 and Monday, February 10.—
Harrison Richlin,
IndieWire,
2 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
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
Noun
-
The design has not been without its critics, not for the color as the shape, which some have described as a waste of space.—
David Phelan,
Forbes.com,
23 Apr. 2025
-
Despite going above and beyond to prove differently, Uso was unable to satiate his harshest critics.—
Ross Rosenfeld,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 Apr. 2025
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
Noun
-
Trump’s supporters responded to the ruling with fury, with some calling for the administration to ignore the emergency decision.—
Zach Schonfeld,
The Hill,
21 Apr. 2025
-
Some supporters of President Donald Trump's Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement have reacted with fury after Karmelo Anthony, who is accused of murdering fellow high school student Austin Metcalf, was able to bond out after a judge on Monday reduced his bond from $1 million to $250,000.—
Josh Hammer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Shrew.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shrew. Accessed 6 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share