dovish
Americanadjective
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(especially of a person in public office) advocating peace, compromise, or a conciliatory national attitude.
Mr. Weizman made his name as one of Israel's most celebrated fighting men, yet he worked to transform himself into a dovish politician.
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Economics. advocating low interest rates or other monetary policies aimed at reducing unemployment rather than inflation.
With the jobless rate in double digits, the same dovish remarks can be expected from other Federal Reserve officials.
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like or resembling a dove or any of the bird’s typical features or behaviors.
The sofa fabric is a soft dovish gray.
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Etymology
Origin of dovish
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How does dovish compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
Someone who's dovish favors political policies that promote peace, rather than conflict with other countries. A dovish president is more likely to sign peace treaties than to start a war. While dovish can mean simply "peaceful and innocent," it's much more common to find it in political writing or speech, particularly in contrast to hawkish. Dovish advisors and cabinet members can influence a government to strive for peaceful resolutions to conflict, while hawkish politicians tend to favor aggressive policies. This political meaning dates from the 1960s.
Vocabulary lists containing dovish
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.
The report anticipates that tighter credit and liquidity next year will force decelerating AI capex, more credit events and the Federal Reserve being forced to adopt a more dovish approach.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 3, 2026
“Any dovish figures could soften yields and support gold, while firm data could lift the dollar and weigh on the metal,” he adds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
“Given our baseline of normalizing inflation, peaking energy prices and more dovish central banks, 10-year bonds should gradually move from headwind to hedge in portfolios,” said the strategists.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 12, 2026
The bank’s survey found 42% of those polled expect a more dovish tone, in line with ING’s thinking, than the bond markets are currently discounting.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 9, 2026
Johnson griped, “That military genius, McNamara, has gone dovish on me.”
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
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