Definition of shrewish in English:

adjective

• (of a woman) bad-tempered or aggressively assertive.

  ‘his shrewish wife’

  More example sentences

  • ‘He intends to woo her perfectly, by telling her how lovely she is, when she looks shrewish, how beautifully she plays, when she makes horrid noises, and more.’
  • ‘The shrewish Katharina gives her final speech of submission out of real love for Petruchio, apparently because she realizes he's as mixed up as she is.’
  • ‘He is married to a shrewish wife who spends her days in curlers and her nights prostrate in their trashy trailer home.’
  • ‘Paul was more than a little depressed with his shrewish wife Zilla, who constantly badgered him, embarrassed him in public, and treated him like a little boy.’
  • ‘Being nasty, rude, shrewish and creepy was very fun to do - I simply pretended to be in a bad mood each time the camera rolled.’

  Synonyms

  bad-tempered, quarrelsome, nasty, mean, spiteful, sharp-tongued, scolding, nagging, peevish, catty, snappy, vindictive, aggressive

  View synonyms