hawkish

adjective

hawk·​ish ˈhȯ-kish How to pronounce hawkish (audio)
1
: resembling or suggesting a hawk or the beak of a hawk in appearance
a hawkish nose
He has a thatch of black curly hair and hawkish features.Jeff Shear
2
: having a militant attitude (as in a dispute) and advocating immediate vigorous action
especially : supporting war or warlike policies
a hawkish politician
He was a frequent and persistently hawkish participant in the war councils of the Administration. Vincent Blasi
While definitions vary, "neoconservative" generally refers to formerly moderate policy advocates who favor a hawkish and assertive foreign policy to implant democracy and American values abroad. Paul Richter
hawkishly adverb
Land is expensive, scarce, and watched hawkishly by environmentalists. Boston Magazine
hawkishness noun
… his Western anti-government philosophy and cold-war hawkishness Jon Meacham

Examples of hawkish in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web No one wearing an oversized Marc Jacobs camo print worries that their jacket betrays a hawkish foreign-policy agenda. Mattie Kahn, Vogue, 6 Mar. 2024 While strong central bank buying remains a supportive factor, a rebound in the U.S. dollar and hawkish comments from Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari are weighing on investor sentiment for the precious metal, ANZ analysts say in a research note. WSJ, 7 Nov. 2023 The source of hawkish bias lies in the credibility gap that dovish leaders face when making foreign and security policies. Elizabeth N. Saunders, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024 For 60 years, from 1952 to 2012, the GOP was led by largely hawkish internationalists, from Dwight Eisenhower and Richard Nixon to Ronald Reagan and Romney. Doyle McManus, Los Angeles Times, 19 Feb. 2024 However the strikes in Iraq and Syria, an initial retaliation for the killing of three American soldiers, did not go as far as some more hawkish figures had hoped, as the White House tries to avoid an all-out war with Iran. Alexander Smith, NBC News, 4 Feb. 2024 Treasury yields ticked higher after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell turned a little more hawkish in his latest comments on interest-rate policy and the economy. Sam Goldfarb, WSJ, 9 Nov. 2023 So, what does the Fed’s hawkish signal mean for investors? Krystal Hur, CNN, 11 Feb. 2024 Another conspiracy theory shared on Weibo singled out Inter Miami’s Cuban-American co-owner Jorge Mas, who is also the chairman of the Cuban American National Foundation, which was linked to hawkish former President Ronald Reagan. TIME, 9 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hawkish.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1747, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of hawkish was in 1747

Dictionary Entries Near hawkish

Cite this Entry

“Hawkish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hawkish. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

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