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
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.
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
They isolated the virus itself from two small mammals, a red-backed vole and a shrew.
From Science Magazine ● Apr. 3, 2024
What the shrew had said was meant to be sympathetic, but it was not helpful.
From "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH" by Robert C. O'Brien
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.
