Meaning & use
harpy
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Meanings
nouncountable
In Greek myth, a winged monster with a woman's head and a bird's body that snatches food and people.
Grammar: Count it normally: a harpy, several harpies.
Patterns
- a harpy with claws
In the old story, harpies swooped down and stole the king's dinner.
The carving shows a harpy with outstretched wings and sharp claws.
The hero fought off a harpy that guarded the cave.
nouncountableoffensiveold-fashioneddisapproving
A cruel, nagging or greedy woman; an insulting, dated word.
Grammar: Used about a woman and meant as an insult; avoid it in modern speech.
The novel's villain calls his aunt a harpy because she criticizes everyone.
Writers once used harpy for any woman seen as shrill or grasping.
Calling a coworker a harpy today would be considered insulting and sexist.
nouncountablebiology
A very large eagle of Central and South American rainforests with a broad crest.
Grammar: Usually called the harpy eagle in full.
Patterns
- harpy eagle
A harpy perched high in the rainforest canopy.
The harpy hunts monkeys and sloths among the treetops.
Visitors hoped to spot a harpy on the jungle tour.
Word forms
| plural | harpies |
|---|
Common combinations
- harpy eagle
- The harpy eagle is one of the largest birds of prey in the world.
- mythical harpy
- A mythical harpy guards the treasure in the video game.
- a screeching harpy
- The storyteller described a screeching harpy circling overhead.
- shrewish harpy
- The play's shrewish harpy turned out to be a clever woman in disguise.
Synonyms and how they differ
- shrew
- Shrew is a dated insult for a bad-tempered, scolding woman, but it lacks the greedy, monstrous image that harpy has.
- virago
- Virago can mean a fierce, domineering woman and is a little more formal and literary than harpy.
- termagant
- Termagant is another old word for a violent-tempered woman, and it is rarer and more bookish than harpy.
Word family
- harpy eagle noun
- a large rainforest bird of prey
- Harpies proper noun
- the winged spirits of Greek myth, named with a capital letter as a group
- harpy-like adjective
- resembling a harpy, especially in being shrill or grasping
Commonly confused: harpy or harp? harpy or harpoon?
harpy vs harp
A harp is a stringed musical instrument, while a harpy is a mythical bird-woman; the words look alike but are unrelated in meaning.
harpy vs harpoon
A harpoon is a spear used for hunting whales; it has nothing to do with the monster.
Practice
In which sentence is harpy used in its original mythological sense?
Choose one answer.
Only the second sentence describes the winged monster from Greek myth. The first and third use harpy as an insult, and the fourth confuses it with the instrument called a harp.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “harpy”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.