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Synonyms

shrew

1 American  
[shroo] / ʃru /

noun

  1. a woman of violent temper and speech; termagant.

    Synonyms:
    scold, nag, virago
shrew 2 American  
[shroo] / ʃru /

noun

  1. any of several small, mouselike insectivores of the genus Sorex and related genera, having a long, sharp snout.

shrew British  
/ ʃruː /

noun

  1. Also called: shrewmouse.  any small mouse-like long-snouted mammal, such as Sorex araneus ( common shrew ), of the family Soricidae: order Insectivora (insectivores) See also water shrew

  2. a bad-tempered or mean-spirited woman

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • shrewlike adjective

Etymology

Origin of shrew1

1200–50; Middle English; special use of shrew 2

Origin of shrew2

before 900; Middle English (only in compounds), Old English scrēawa

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Purgatorius, a small mammal about the size of a shrew, appears in the fossil record shortly after the dinosaurs went extinct around 65.9 million years ago.

From Science Daily • Mar. 3, 2026

Previous fictions have deemed Agnes a cradle robber or a shrew or the Bard’s secret co-writer.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 25, 2025

They included a horseshoe bat called Rhinolophus mabuensis and a dwarf musk shrew which scientists are still in the process of naming and describing.

From BBC • Jul. 15, 2024

The shrew label never worked on her because her unabashed confidence and conviction were always painted as her strengths.

From Salon • Apr. 8, 2024

The lizards hadn’t even noticed the shrew hitting the brakes, nor was there any signal as to how Miel had known.

From "Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody" by Patrick Ness

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.