beshrew

[ bih-shroo ]

/ bɪˈʃru /

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verb (used with object) Archaic.

to curse; invoke evil upon.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

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Origin of beshrew

First recorded in 1275–1325, beshrew is from the Middle English word beshrewen.See be-, shrew¹

Words nearby beshrew

Beseleel, beset, set in one's ways, be, besetting, beshow, beshrew, Besht, beside, beside oneself, besides, beside the point

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use beshrew in a sentence

Beshrew me, if my wife and thee could not make exchange of some portion of her spirit and thy meekness to the advantage of both.
Constance Sherwood|Lady Georgiana Fullerton
But listen now: I have weightier matters; I have eggs on the spit, beshrew me else!
Judith Shakespeare|William Black
Get me some drink George, I am almost molten with fretting: now beshrew his Knaves heart for it.
Beaumont & Fletcher's Works (6 of 10): The Queen of Corinth;|Francis Beaumont
Beshrew me, there be plenty of that trade in London, and chiefly the feeble folk that he hath driven from our stage.
Judith Shakespeare|William Black

"Beshrew me, but I think thou art distraught already," answered the Queen.
Kenilworth|Sir Walter Scott

British Dictionary definitions for beshrew

beshrew

/ (bɪˈʃruː) /

verb

(tr) archaic to wish evil on; curse (used in mild oaths such as beshrew me)

Word Origin for beshrew

C14: see be-, shrew

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