wolfish

adjective

wolf·​ish ˈwu̇l-fish How to pronounce wolfish (audio)
1
a
: suggestive of a wolf
wolfish mongrel dogsHoffman Birney
a wolfish and withdrawn youthMarshall Frady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

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 19 Mar. 2024.

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