war hawk
Americannoun
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hawk.
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(initial capital letters) any of the congressmen from the South and West, led by Henry Clay and John Calhoun, who wanted war against Britain in the period leading up to the War of 1812.
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.
Unbelievable as it sounds, Turgidson was based on a real-life war hawk.
From Salon ● Mar. 10, 2026
“Warfare” wants to live in the dictionary shoehorned between war cry and war hawk.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 10, 2025
Rather than simply being less of a war hawk, she will shift the entire focus to peacemaking.
From Slate ● Aug. 2, 2019
Max Boot, a hard-line war hawk and self-declared “American imperialist,” lauded Clinton in an op-ed in the Los Angeles Times in May.
From Salon ● Jun. 10, 2016
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.
