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
Jeff Shear2
: 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
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
Paul Richter
hawkishly
adverb
Land is expensive, scarce, and watched hawkishly by environmentalists.
—Boston Magazine
Boston Magazine
hawkishness
noun
… his Western anti-government philosophy and cold-war hawkishness…
—Jon Meacham
Jon Meacham
Examples of hawkish in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Trump’s most hawkish trade advisor on China and his most ardent tariff advocate, Peter Navarro, will not attend the talks.
—Kevin Breuninger, CNBC, 7 May 2025
His hawkish pro-Israel position isolated him from former allies, including staff who were part of his recovery plan.
—Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 2 May 2025
Waltz has long been something of an outlier in the second Trump White House because of his traditional hawkish foreign policy views, especially on Russia and Iran.
—Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 1 May 2025
Waltz's hawkish views on foreign policy have reportedly been too traditional to fit in with the MAGA crew, and the adviser was already on thin ice with the president after making headlines in March for an embarrassing group chat mishap.
—Meredith Kile, People.com, 1 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for hawkish
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Kevin Breuninger, CNBC, 7 May 2025
His hawkish pro-Israel position isolated him from former allies, including staff who were part of his recovery plan.
—Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 2 May 2025
Waltz has long been something of an outlier in the second Trump White House because of his traditional hawkish foreign policy views, especially on Russia and Iran.
—Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 1 May 2025
Waltz's hawkish views on foreign policy have reportedly been too traditional to fit in with the MAGA crew, and the adviser was already on thin ice with the president after making headlines in March for an embarrassing group chat mishap.
—Meredith Kile, People.com, 1 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for hawkish
Cite this Entry
“Hawkish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hawkish. Accessed 15 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share