shrew
1 Americannoun
noun
noun
-
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
-
a bad-tempered or mean-spirited woman
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
Explanation
Use the noun shrew — at your own risk — to refer to a woman who is argumentative, nagging, and ill tempered. The noun shrew can also refer to a mouse-like animal with tiny eyes, a long snout, and a sharp bite. Superstitions associated with this small mammal led people in the thirteenth century to use the word shrew to describe a spiteful person, male or female. The word later came to be used to describe a nagging, ill-tempered woman, as in William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. Unless you are a famous dead author, however, you may want to steer clear of this one in conversation: it’s considered offensive.
Vocabulary lists containing shrew
Amazing Animals, A-Z
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Amazing Animals, List 3
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Queen of the Sea
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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
Lyell shrew, a mouse-like mammal that lives in the central Sierra Nevada, has never been photographed in the 100 years since it was discovered.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 29, 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
Suddenly he felt the shrew pulling on his feet.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
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.
