Library / English Dictionary

SHREW

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Small mouselike mammal with a long snout; related to moles

Synonyms:

shrew; shrewmouse

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Hypernyms ("shrew" is a kind of...):

insectivore (small insect-eating mainly nocturnal terrestrial or fossorial mammals)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "shrew"):

common shrew; Sorex araneus (common American shrew)

masked shrew; Sorex cinereus (commonest shrew of moist habitats in North America)

Blarina brevicauda; short-tailed shrew (North American shrew with tail less than half its body length)

water shrew (any of several small semiaquatic shrews usually living near swift-flowing streams)

Cryptotis parva; least shrew (small brown shrew of grassy regions of eastern United States)

Holonyms ("shrew" is a member of...):

family Soricidae; Soricidae (shrews)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A scolding nagging bad-tempered woman

Synonyms:

shrew; termagant

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("shrew" is a kind of...):

disagreeable woman; unpleasant woman (a woman who is an unpleasant person)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "shrew"):

virago (a noisy or scolding or domineering woman)

yenta ((Yiddish) a vulgar shrew; a shallow coarse termagant)

Credits