owlish

adjective

owl·​ish ˈau̇-lish 

: resembling or suggesting an owl

owlishly adverb

owlishness noun

Examples of owlish in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Childres, who has a slight and somewhat owlish figure, and the squint of a medieval illuminator, had recently completed a Ph.D. in physics at Purdue University. —Sean Michaels, The New Yorker, 28 Nov. 2022

An owlish owner who happens to know what’s in that teetering tower by the door. —Carolina A. Miranda, Los Angeles Times, 1 Apr. 2023

Allawi, a 73-year-old former banker and Oxford don with an air of owlish gravitas, started off with the usual bureaucratic niceties: a gracious thank-you to the prime minister, an assurance that the country’s finances were in relatively decent shape. —Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic, 22 Sep. 2022

The man in the white leisure suit and owlish glasses appeared at my desk, seeking a newspaper article about his religious group. —Dallas News, 19 Jan. 2023

In the painting, enormous, swooping silhouettes of owlish birds, one green and the other blue, each with wings spread wide, are creatures that display both menace and freedom. —Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 12 Oct. 2022

And Owen Teague, as James, makes his owlish quietude felt. —Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 25 Mar. 2022

Soni is forty-three, with dark hair and owlish glasses, and an air of intense curiosity. —Sarah Stillman, The New Yorker, 1 Nov. 2021

Eugene Levy portrayed Johnny with an owlish deadpan, and Catherine O’Hara, his frequent collaborator on the Canadian sketch circuit, granted Moira a loopy flair, an unplaceable accent, and a gonzo lexicon. —Eren Orbey, The New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2020

Word History

First Known Use

1596, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

owlish

adjective

owl·​ish ˈau̇-lish 

: resembling or suggesting an owl

owlishly adverb

owlishness noun