vulpine
Americanadjective
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of or resembling a fox.
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cunning or crafty.
adjective
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Also: vulpecular. of, relating to, or resembling a fox
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possessing the characteristics often attributed to foxes; crafty, clever, etc
Etymology
Origin of vulpine
First recorded in 1620–30; from Latin vulpīnus, equivalent to vulp(ēs) “fox” + -īnus adjective suffix; -ine 1; from the same root as Greek alṓpēx and alōpós “fox”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
And now, for the first time, a specimen has been successfully GPS-collared and released back into the region — marking a major victory for conservation efforts to protect the elusive vulpine.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 10, 2026
Bovine is to cow as vulpine is to which animal?
From Slate • Sep. 11, 2023
His voice could convey flirtatiousness, amusement, heartache or wily agility, and his syncopated phrasing was as close to jazz as to traditional blues, leaping easily into falsetto or letting loose a vulpine howl.
From New York Times • Dec. 31, 2022
A slim, pale, vulpine man in his mid-thirties, with well-tended light-brown hair and a goatee, came onstage, dressed in a trim black suit and a black shirt.
From The New Yorker • Sep. 30, 2019
His speech was slow and mellow, measured and unexcited, his gestures were wide, and new teeth gave him a vulpine smile out of all proportion to his emotion.
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
