wolfish
adjective
wolf·ish
ˈwu̇l-fish 
1
a
: suggestive of a wolf
wolfish mongrel dogs—
Hoffman Birney
Hoffman Birneya wolfish and withdrawn youth—Marshall Frady
Marshall Frady
b
: befitting or characteristic of a wolf
a wolfish appetite
2
: of or relating to wolves
wolfishly
adverb
wolfishness
noun
Examples of wolfish in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
From the counter of Chez Bebelle, proprietor Gilles Belzons—a large wolfish figure who once played rugby for Narbonne—picks up a megaphone and hollers across to the charcutier opposite.
—Rick Jordan, Condé Nast Traveler, 16 Dec. 2022
Best of all, for Sugar Kane, the band’s lead singer and Joe’s wolfish crush, the songwriters offer a clutch of sultry Harold Arlen-style blues.
—Jesse Green, New York Times, 11 Dec. 2022
Quite noticeably, all the women are exceptionally attractive, while three somewhat older men seem distinctly wolfish.
—Washington Post, 6 Apr. 2022
Super Bowl Week is famous for its insatiable appetites, unabashed gluttony and wolfish overconsumption.
—Los Angeles Times, 8 Feb. 2022
West matched Fox with his own leather outerwear, a distressed biker jacket, leather pants, his utilitarian Red Wing boots, and a gray hoodie—plus what looked like pale, wolfish contact lenses.
—Chelsey Sanchez, Harper's BAZAAR, 24 Jan. 2022
In this holiday romance, ski lodge owner Landon Wolff has to cope with an influx of wolf shifters in his town at Christmastime — but his wolfish instincts get turned to 11 when veterinarian Gabrielle Lowe comes to stay.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 6 Dec. 2021
Maurizio gradually embraces his wolfish business side and Patrizia gets pushed aside – and consequently confides in a call-in TV psychic (Salma Hayek) – as the story veers from darkly comic to ultimately tragic.
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 23 Nov. 2021
Soon, Sandie/Eloise is being twirled across the dance floor by the wolfish music manager Jack (Doctor Who’s Matt Smith) in a bravura set piece of swooping camerawork, costuming, production design, and tag-team choreography.
—Chris Lee, Vulture, 2 Nov. 2021
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Rick Jordan, Condé Nast Traveler, 16 Dec. 2022
Best of all, for Sugar Kane, the band’s lead singer and Joe’s wolfish crush, the songwriters offer a clutch of sultry Harold Arlen-style blues.
—Jesse Green, New York Times, 11 Dec. 2022
Quite noticeably, all the women are exceptionally attractive, while three somewhat older men seem distinctly wolfish.
—Washington Post, 6 Apr. 2022
Super Bowl Week is famous for its insatiable appetites, unabashed gluttony and wolfish overconsumption.
—Los Angeles Times, 8 Feb. 2022
West matched Fox with his own leather outerwear, a distressed biker jacket, leather pants, his utilitarian Red Wing boots, and a gray hoodie—plus what looked like pale, wolfish contact lenses.
—Chelsey Sanchez, Harper's BAZAAR, 24 Jan. 2022
In this holiday romance, ski lodge owner Landon Wolff has to cope with an influx of wolf shifters in his town at Christmastime — but his wolfish instincts get turned to 11 when veterinarian Gabrielle Lowe comes to stay.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 6 Dec. 2021
Maurizio gradually embraces his wolfish business side and Patrizia gets pushed aside – and consequently confides in a call-in TV psychic (Salma Hayek) – as the story veers from darkly comic to ultimately tragic.
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 23 Nov. 2021
Soon, Sandie/Eloise is being twirled across the dance floor by the wolfish music manager Jack (Doctor Who’s Matt Smith) in a bravura set piece of swooping camerawork, costuming, production design, and tag-team choreography.
—Chris Lee, Vulture, 2 Nov. 2021
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'wolfish.' 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
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Time Traveler
The first known use of wolfish was
in the 15th century
Dictionary Entries Near wolfish
Cite this Entry
“Wolfish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wolfish. Accessed 27 Sep. 2023.
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