cry wolf

C c

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
- [krahy woo lf]
- /kraɪ wʊlf/
- /kraɪ wʊlf/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [krahy woo lf]
- /kraɪ wʊlf/

Definitions of cry wolf words

phrase cry wolf If someone cries wolf, they say that there is a problem when there is not, with the result that people do not believe them when there really is a problem. 3
noun cry wolf to give a false alarm 3
noun plural cry wolf any of several large carnivorous mammals of the genus Canis, of the dog family Canidae, especially C. lupus, usually hunting in packs, formerly common throughout the Northern Hemisphere but now chiefly restricted to the more unpopulated parts of its range. 1
noun plural cry wolf the fur of such an animal. 1
noun plural cry wolf any of various wolflike animals of different families, as the thylacine. 1
noun plural cry wolf (initial capital letter) Astronomy. the constellation Lupus. 1

See all 19 definitions of cry wolf

Information block about the term

Origin of cry wolf

First appearance:

before 900

One of the 4% oldest English words

before 900; Middle English; Old English wulf; cognate with German Wolf, Old Norse ulfr, Gothic wulfs, Polish wilk, Lithuanian vil̃kas, Sanskrit vṛka; akin to Latin lupus, Greek lýkos

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Cry wolf

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Cry wolf

cry wolf popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 96% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.

Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

cry wolf usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for cry wolf

verb cry wolf

clue in — anything that serves to guide or direct in the solution of a problem, mystery, etc.
warn — to give notice, advice, or intimation to (a person, group, etc.) of danger, impending evil, possible harm, or anything else unfavorable: They warned him of a plot against him. She was warned that her life was in danger.

All 2 Synonyms of cry wolf