1
: resembling or suggesting a hawk or the beak of a hawk in appearance
a hawkish nose
He has a thatch of black curly hair and hawkish features.—
Jeff Shear
Jeff Shear2
: having a militant attitude (as in a dispute) and advocating immediate vigorous action
especially
: supporting war or warlike policies
a hawkish politician
He was a frequent and persistently hawkish participant in the war councils of the Administration. —Vincent Blasi
Vincent Blasi While definitions vary, "neoconservative" generally refers to formerly moderate policy advocates who favor a hawkish and assertive foreign policy to implant democracy and American values abroad. —Paul Richter
Paul Richter
hawkishly
adverb
Land is expensive, scarce, and watched hawkishly by environmentalists.
—Boston Magazine
Boston Magazine
hawkishness
noun
… his Western anti-government philosophy and cold-war hawkishness…
—Jon Meacham
Jon Meacham
Examples of hawkish in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
On the topic of the war in Ukraine and negotiating with Putin, the strategist argued that Republican candidate Nikki Haley adopted a hawkish stance on Russia and the war in Ukraine during the 2024 Republican presidential primary but failed to gain much traction with voters.
—Alexander Bolton, The Hill, 18 Apr. 2025
Andrew Rein, president of the fiscally hawkish Citizens Budget Commission, said Trump’s tariffs could affect everything from the city government’s capital construction budget to its public pension funds, which are dependent on the stock market.
—Chris Sommerfeldt, New York Daily News, 8 Apr. 2025
Still, their view has leaned more hawkish in their rate projection, with four members seeing no rate changes in 2025.
—Yun Li, CNBC, 19 Mar. 2025
Trump’s foreign policy team is generally united in its hawkish views on China.
—Joshua Keating, Vox, 18 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hawkish
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Alexander Bolton, The Hill, 18 Apr. 2025
Andrew Rein, president of the fiscally hawkish Citizens Budget Commission, said Trump’s tariffs could affect everything from the city government’s capital construction budget to its public pension funds, which are dependent on the stock market.
—Chris Sommerfeldt, New York Daily News, 8 Apr. 2025
Still, their view has leaned more hawkish in their rate projection, with four members seeing no rate changes in 2025.
—Yun Li, CNBC, 19 Mar. 2025
Trump’s foreign policy team is generally united in its hawkish views on China.
—Joshua Keating, Vox, 18 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hawkish
Cite this Entry
“Hawkish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hawkish. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
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