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wolf in sheep's clothing
- Figuratively, anyone who disguises a ruthless nature through an outward show of innocence. Jesus taught his followers to “beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.”
Idioms and Phrases
An enemy disguised as a friend, as in Dan was a wolf in sheep's clothing, pretending to help but all the while spying for our competitors . This term comes from the ancient fable about a wolf that dresses up in the skin of a sheep and sneaks up on a flock. This fable has given rise to a rich history of allusions as in the Sermon on the Mount when Jesus speaks of false prophets in sheep's clothing, “but inwardly they are ravening wolves” (Matthew 7:15).Example Sentences
In handing down a harsher sentence, Anderson referred to Moore as a “wolf in sheep’s clothing.”
“To use a religious term, I’m a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” Spilsbury said.
There’s a lightness about Stanley that I really enjoyed incorporating into the wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Coming into the tournament López hinted that his team was ready for big things, calling Mexico a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
“But it seems like our job is to answer whether it’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing. That’s all we get to do.”
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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.
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