What does "wolfish" mean?

Of, like, or pertaining to a wolf.

What is a synonym for "wolfish"?

Common synonyms include: lupine, rapacious, all-devouring, all-engulfing, animal, anthropophagous.

Wolfish

//ˈwʊlfiʃ// adj

adj ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Adjective

1
Of, like, or pertaining to a wolf.
2
Of, like, or pertaining to a wolf.; Suggestive or characteristic of a wolf.
"a wolfish appetite"
3
Fierce; menacing; savage.

Adjective

1
devouring or craving food in great quantities wordnet
2
resembling or characteristic (or considered characteristic) of a wolf wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

lupine rapacious all-devouring all-engulfing animal anthropophagous

Example

More examples

"Here Dorcon concealed himself and anxiously waited for the arrival of the thirsty flocks; hoping that Chloe would be so startled and terrified by his wolfish appearance that he would be able to seize her and effect his purpose."

Etymology

From wolf + -ish.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.