Vulpine
adj, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 Any of certain canids called foxes (including true foxes, arctic foxes and grey foxes), distinguished from canines, which are regarded as similar to dogs and wolves.
"The family Canidae^([sic]) consists of two main subgroups, the vulpines (foxes) and the canines (wolves, coyotes, jackals, and dogs), and some intermediate “fox-dog” forms from South America."
- 2 A person considered cunning.
- 1 Pertaining to a fox.
"She dared not raise her eyes above the level of the tea-table, and she almost expected to see a spot of accusing vulpine blood drip down and stain the whiteness of the cloth."
- 2 Having the characteristics of a fox; foxlike; cunning.
- 1 resembling or characteristic of a fox wordnet
Antonyms
All antonymsExample
More examples"She dared not raise her eyes above the level of the tea-table, and she almost expected to see a spot of accusing vulpine blood drip down and stain the whiteness of the cloth."
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin vulpīnus (“foxy, fox-like”), from vulpēs, earlier volpēs (“fox”), from Proto-Indo-European *wl(o)p- (“fox”). Cognate with Welsh llywarn (“fox”), Ancient Greek ἀλώπηξ (alṓpēx), Armenian աղուէս (aġuēs), Albanian dhelpër, Lithuanian vilpišỹs (“wildcat”), Sanskrit लोपाश (lopāśa, “jackal, fox”).
Related phrases
More for "vulpine"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.