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

Her selection thus signals a turning of the page—vindicating all those who object to a mindlessly hawkish U.S. foreign policy. —Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 10 Jan. 2025

Key Facts The minutes from the hawkish Dec. 18 meeting of the Fed’s policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee, which came out Wednesday afternoon, revealed the root of the pause from Fed staff: The looming shift in Washington. —Derek Saul, Forbes, 8 Jan. 2025

In his first term as president, Trump enforced a number of hawkish policy measures on China, including a decision to add Huawei to a trade blacklist restricting it from doing business with American tech suppliers. —Ryan Browne, CNBC, 6 Jan. 2025

The market began the week attempting to recover from the Federal Reserve’s hawkish signals of fewer rate cuts in 2024. —Benzinga, Detroit Free Press, 28 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1747, in the meaning defined at sense 1