shrew·ish \ˈshrüish, -üēsh, esp South ˈsrü-, dial ˈswü-\adjective : resembling or having the characteristics of a shrew : ill-tempered, intractable < a small, shrewish woman with … eyes which boded temper — Dorothy Sayers > < her shrewish tongue — Peggy Durdin > < the shrewish river — Murray Schumach >