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Synonyms

werewolf

American  
[wair-woolf, weer-, wur-] / ˈwɛərˌwʊlf, ˈwɪər-, ˈwɜr- /
Or werwolf

noun

plural

werewolves

  1. (in folklore and superstition) a human being who has changed into a wolf, or is capable of assuming the form of a wolf, while retaining human intelligence.

werewolf British  
/ ˈwɛə-, ˈwɪəˌwʊlf /

noun

  1. a person fabled in folklore and superstition to have been changed into a wolf by being bewitched or said to be able to assume wolf form at will

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of werewolf

before 1000; Middle English werwolf, Old English werwulf, equivalent to wer man (cognate with Gothic wair, Latin vir ) + wulf wolf; cognate with Middle Dutch weerwolf, Old High German werwolf

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

She was a registered nurse when they met; he was a few years off playing werewolf Jacob Black in the blockbuster franchise that brought a sparkly vampire-human love story to life.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2026

Try clipping them to the cuff of your shoes to mimic werewolf legs.

From Salon • Oct. 30, 2025

Who knows if “Oh, Mary!” will be among the first of many reclamations of Mary Todd Lincoln as werewolf, mercenary or other genre trope.

From New York Times • Feb. 7, 2024

Because this is at the heart of the werewolf issue, let us take a moment to examine this phenomenon.

From Scientific American • Oct. 27, 2023

“We don’t really know what the aftereffects will be — I mean, Greyback being a werewolf, but not transformed at the time.”

From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.