hawkish

adjective

hawk·​ish ˈhȯ-kish 

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

2

: 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

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

hawkishly adverb

Land is expensive, scarce, and watched hawkishly by environmentalists.

—Boston Magazine

hawkishness noun

… his Western anti-government philosophy and cold-war hawkishness…

—Jon Meacham

Examples of hawkish in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The initial steps the new Trump administration takes in Asia might look hawkish at first glance. —Peter D. Feaver, Foreign Affairs, 6 Nov. 2024

Earlier in the race, Blackburn released an ad touting her hawkish stance on China. —Nate Rau, Axios, 30 Oct. 2024

The Biden-Harris administration, for its part, has taken its own hawkish approach to trade policy, especially with China, and has even kept some of Trump’s first-term tariffs in place. —Rebecca Picciotto, CNBC, 20 Oct. 2024

Since the July 31 decision to hike rates to 0.25%, Ueda seemed to scale back on this hawkish rhetoric. —William Pesek, Forbes, 30 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1747, in the meaning defined at sense 1