leonine
Americanadjective
-
of or relating to the lion.
We breathlessly watched the pride, in its leonine majesty, as it moved across the veldt.
-
resembling or suggestive of a lion.
the conductor's wild, leonine hair.
-
(usually initial capital letter) of or relating to Leo, especially Leo IV or Leo XIII.
adjective
-
connected with one of the popes called Leo
-
a district of Rome on the right bank of the Tiber fortified by Pope Leo IV
-
of or relating to certain prayers in the Mass prescribed by Pope Leo XIII
noun
adjective
Etymology
Origin of leonine
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English leonyn, from Latin leōnīnus “lionlike,” equivalent to leōn- (stem of leō) + -īnus; see origin at lion, -ine 1
Explanation
If you are leonine you resemble a lion in either good or bad ways. Lions are both feared and loved. They are kings of the jungle, agile merciless majestic hunters. If you have leonine courage, you are as strong and brave as a lion. However, if you have a leonine mane, that might suggest that you're having a bad hair day.
Vocabulary lists containing leonine
A Lexical Zoo of Animal Adjectives
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Animal Adjectives
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"A Horseman in the Sky" by Ambrose Bierce
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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.
What could be more leonine than a personal inferno?
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 22, 2024
What looked on the picture to be a long, leonine dangling tail with a bob at the end could have been a shadow cast by vegetation.
From Reuters • Jul. 21, 2023
Brian Cox, who for three-plus seasons played Logan with a mercurial, leonine ferocity, seemed as surprised as anyone to learn that his character was fated for such a swift demise.
From New York Times • Apr. 9, 2023
She restrains from belting these lines out with her usual, leonine force, finding delicate new tones that double down on the song's devastating emotional impact.
From BBC • Nov. 18, 2021
Its body was leonine, the skin stretched across its lean frame the pale pink color of something that hadn’t seen true sunlight in years.
From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray
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.
