shrike · noun — any of various passerine birds of the family Laniidae which are known for their habit of catching other birds and small animals and impaling the uneaten portions of their bodies on thorns. It carries an Arena rating of 1698, earned across 22 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, shrike ranks #67 of 17,166 for Most Vivid Words, #255 of 17,168 for Most Exacting Words, #550 of 17,171 for Scariest Words, #859 of 17,165 for Most Ingenious Words.
shrike is pronounced /ʃɹaɪk/.
Why “shrike” is a great word
A predatory songbird that captures insects, small birds, and mammals, then skewers them upon thorns or barbed wire to store or consume later. Its name descends from the Old English *sċrīc*, from the same Proto-Germanic root as *shriek* and *screech*, named for the bird's harsh, piercing call. Unlike the soft-billed, berry-eating thrush or the raucously omnivorous jay, the shrike is a butcher-bird, equipped with a raptor's hooked beak and a singularly macabre larder. It is the thornbush hung with desiccated beetles, the fence line studded with the tiny, furred relics of voles, the silent watch on a gallows-tree—a quiet testament that even among musicians, there are those who compose in blood.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
From Middle English *schrike, *schryke, from Old English sċrīc (“shrike, thrush”), from the same root as shriek and screech, named after the bird's cry. Compare Icelandic skríkja (“shrieker, shrike”), Swedish skrika (“jay”).
noun
- Any of various passerine birds of the family Laniidae which are known for their habit of catching other birds and small animals and impaling the uneaten portions of their bodies on thorns.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- wariangle 72% match — Any of various aggressive shrikes of the genus Lanius, such as the red-backed shrike or great grey shrike, sometimes known as butcherbirds. vs shrike →
- murderbird 72% match — The butcherbird, the shrike. vs shrike →
- shrikebill 69% match — Any of the birds in the genus Clytorhynchus, found in Melanesia and western Polynesia. vs shrike →
- shrikethrush 65% match — A songbird of the genus Colluricincla. vs shrike →
- shriketit 63% match — Any of various subspecies of passerine birds in the genus Falcunculus. vs shrike →
- cuckooshrike 62% match — A bird of any of the species in the family Campephagidae. vs shrike →
- screecher 61% match — A bird of the former category Picariae, distinguished from the songbirds. vs shrike →
- antshrike 60% match — Any of several passerine bird species of various genera in the antbird (Thamnophilidae) family. vs shrike →