hawkish

adjective

hawk·​ish ˈhȯ-kish 

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

Graham has a long history of hawkish stances on foreign policy. —Jared Gans, The Hill, 12 Jan. 2026

Backing him up was close ally and hawkish Sen. Lindsey Graham, who stood beside Trump on Air Force One as the president fielded questions from the press. —Francesca Chambers, USA Today, 10 Jan. 2026

Bolton, the hawkish neoconservative who was Trump’s longest-serving White House national security adviser during his first term, had advocated for regime change in Venezuela for years and worked in the first term to support opposition efforts to overthrow Maduro. —Garrett M. Graff, Wired News, 6 Jan. 2026

The Republican Party, for decades, was held together by a three-legged stool of fiscal conservatism, cultural conservatism and a hawkish foreign policy. —Domenico Montanaro, NPR, 5 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1747, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for hawkish

• mawkish