Word · Frequency #20881
shrew
泼妇；悍妇
a scolding nagging bad-tempered woman
- 1.
Any of numerous small, mouselike, chiefly nocturnal, mammals of the family Soricidae.
多种小型、似鼠、主要夜间活动的鼩鼱科哺乳动物
- 2.
a scolding nagging bad-tempered woman
爱责骂、唠叨、脾气坏的女人
- 3.
Certain other small mammals that resemble true shrews.
某些类似真鼩鼱的其他小型哺乳动物
- 4.
small mouselike mammal with a long snout; related to moles
长吻的小型鼠类哺乳动物；与鼹鼠近缘
多种小型、似鼠、主要夜间活动的鼩鼱科哺乳动物；爱责骂、唠叨、脾气坏的女人；某些类似真鼩鼱的其他小型哺乳动物；长吻的小型鼠类哺乳动物；与鼹鼠近缘；泼妇；[法] 捍妇
In use
My aunt can be a real shrew when she is tired, scolding everyone for no reason.
The shopkeeper called the woman a shrew after she complained angrily for ten minutes.
People in the village avoided the two shrews, who always quarreled at the market.
be a shrew
shrew 是可数名词，指爱责骂、脾气不好的女人，含贬义。
She is a shrew.
她是个泼妇。
call sb a shrew
call 后接宾语和名词短语作宾语补足语，也可说 describe her as a shrew。
They called her a shrew.
他们叫她泼妇。
Common mistakes
She is a shrew businesswoman.She is a shrewd businesswoman.
Connections
Collocations
- a nagging shrew
- 爱唠叨的泼妇
- He said living with a nagging shrew was exhausting.他说跟一个爱唠叨的泼妇住在一起令人精疲力竭。
- a bad-tempered shrew
- 脾气暴躁的悍妇
- The whole street avoided the bad-tempered shrew.整条街的人都躲着那个脾气暴躁的悍妇。
- a vicious shrew
- 凶恶的泼妇
- The article described the mayor as a vicious shrew.那篇文章把市长描述成一个凶恶的泼妇。
- tame a shrew
- 驯服泼妇
- He joked that it was harder than taming a shrew.他开玩笑说这比驯服泼妇还难。
Idioms & figurative uses
- the taming of the shrew
- 驯悍记；比喻对泼辣或难以驾驭的人进行管教Negotiating with the committee felt like the taming of the shrew.与委员会谈判就像在驯服泼妇一样。
Learner notes
Memory Tip
shrew 以 sh 开头，像‘嘘’的发音——但泼妇不会让你安静，反而骂得更凶。
Context & Register
语域：formal 常见场景：literary texts、classical or historical writing 该词表示“泼妇、悍妇”，通常见于文学或较正式的书面语境，多用于形容爱骂人、脾气坏的女人；日常口语中比较少见。
Pronunciation & Spelling
以上单词都与 /ʃruː/ 押韵：它们都含相同的元音 /uː/，且拼写中多有 -ew。注意拼写相似的 sew /soʊ/（缝）和古拼法 shew /ʃoʊ/ 并不押韵，发音不同。
Learn the forms together
页面下方列出了常见词形变化。学习时注意它们在句子中的语法位置。
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.