Dictionary

foxish en · ADJ

Etymology

From Middle English foxish, equivalent to fox + -ish.

Meanings

1. Like or characteristic of a fox; foxlike; (by extension) sly.
   • One was a "small, decidedly vulpine race," characterized by prominent, pointed, erect ears, pointed muzzle, silky hair and typically whitish belly. Consistent with foxish traits, the dogs were usually, brown, reddish or in some cases, white and gray. 2002, Bryan David Cummins, First nations, first dogs:
   • Over all the faces was a sheen of appetite for something. They had a foxish look under the moving tree light. 1974, Thea Astley, A Kindness Cup, Text Classics, published 2018, page 83:
   • Different types of political organisation, such as constitutional arrangements protecting individual rights, were simply ruses generally adopted by foxish elites to pull the wool over the eyes of the people. 2009, Joseph V. Femia, Vilfredo Pareto:
   • Then, he is — more tigerish than the tiger, more skunkish than the skunk, more foxish than the fox. 2008, Moishe Nadir, Harvey Fink, That is how it is:

Forms

Deriveds

foxishly

Relateds

foxlike · foxy