hawkish

[haw-kish]

adjective

1. resembling a hawk, as in appearance or behavior.

2. advocating war or a belligerently threatening diplomatic policy.

ˈhawkish

/ ˈhɔːkɪʃ /

adjective

1. favouring the use or display of force rather than diplomacy to achieve foreign policy goals

Other Word Forms

• hawkishly adverb
• hawkishness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of hawkish¹

First recorded in 1835–45; hawk ¹ + -ish ¹

Example Sentences

The case sent shock waves through Britain’s parliament, as Cash was a parliamentary researcher and worked for the China Research Group, which lobbies lawmakers for a more hawkish approach to Beijing.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

She is a hawkish nationalist politician who has frequently visited the controversial Yasukuni Shrine where the spirits of Japan’s World War II dead, including war criminals, are enshrined.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

The LDP veteran is hawkish on security and aims to revise Japan's pacifist constitution.

Read more on BBC

The next storm, the Iraq War, gave “The Daily Show” vigorous purpose as the hot blade slicing through the hawkish, Islamophobic spin originating from the Bush-Cheney White House, and amplified by Fox News.

Read more on Salon

Us film fans have stared at his hawkish mug for eons, but I can’t remember ever before seeing him flash a huge, daffy grin.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

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