dire wolf

American  

[dahyuhr woolf] / ˈdaɪər ˌwʊlf /

noun

1. an extinct canid species, Aenocyon dirus, with two recognized subspecies (A. dirus dirus andA. dirus guildayi ), living in the Americas and eastern Asia during the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene epochs: similar in size to the largest modern gray wolf (Canis lupus ), but with larger, more powerful teeth suited for preying upon large prehistoric herbivores, such as mastodons, bison, camels, and horses.

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Etymology

Origin of dire wolf

First recorded in 1910–15; translation of New Latin Canis dirus “dread dog,” species name coined by Joseph Leidy ( def. ) (1858); designation Aenocyon dirus (from Greek ainós, “terrible” + Greek cýon, “dog” [+ dirus ]) proposed (but not universally accepted) in 1918 to consolidate variously named species deemed separate from genus Canis ; 2021 DNA findings show the dire wolf to be highly distinct from extant wolflike canines and so the classification A. dirus is now accepted as appropriate

Example Sentences

Its announcement caught fire because the dire wolf was a species depicted in the TV series “Game of Thrones” — indeed, part of the company’s publicity campaign featured a shot of George R.R.

From Los Angeles Times • May 21, 2026

Right now, the biggest showstopper is arguably a trophy-like wall festooned with 400 dire wolf skulls.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 22, 2026

This is the same company that “brought back” the ice-age dire wolf with financial help from Game of Thrones author George R.R.

From Slate • Aug. 8, 2025

That is, not the genetic instructions in DNA themselves, but the things the DNA codes for: the long fur of a mammoth, for example, or the large stature typical of a dire wolf.

From Salon • May 15, 2025

But the company’s choice of the dire wolf as its first announced successful “de-extinction” seems almost preordained.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 24, 2025