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wolf in sheep's clothing

wolf
W w

Transcription

    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • UK Pronunciation
    • UK IPA
    • [woo lf]
    • /wʊlf/
    • /wʊlf ɪn ˈʃiːps ˈkləʊ.ðɪŋ/
    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [woo lf]
    • /wʊlf/

Definitions of wolf in sheep's clothing words

  • noun plural wolf in sheep's clothing 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 wolf in sheep's clothing the fur of such an animal. 1
  • noun plural wolf in sheep's clothing any of various wolflike animals of different families, as the thylacine. 1
  • noun plural wolf in sheep's clothing (initial capital letter) Astronomy. the constellation Lupus. 1
  • noun plural wolf in sheep's clothing the larva of any of various small insects infesting granaries. 1
  • noun plural wolf in sheep's clothing a cruelly rapacious person. 1
See all 18 definitions of wolf in sheep's clothing

Information block about the term

Origin of wolf in sheep's clothing

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 Wolf in sheep's clothing

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Full grammatical hierarchy of Wolf in sheep's clothing

wolf in sheep's clothing 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".

Synonyms for wolf in sheep's clothing

noun wolf in sheep's clothing

  • casuist — a person, esp a theologian, who attempts to resolve moral dilemmas by the application of general rules and the careful distinction of special cases
  • dissembler — to give a false or misleading appearance to; conceal the truth or real nature of: to dissemble one's incompetence in business.
  • four-flusher — a person who makes false or pretentious claims; bluffer.
  • fourflusher — a person who makes false or pretentious claims; bluffer.
  • hypocrite — a person who feigns some desirable or publicly approved attitude, especially one whose private life, opinions, or statements belie his or her public statements.
All 9 Synonyms of wolf in sheep's clothing

See also

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