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View synonyms for wolf in sheep's clothing

wolf in sheep's clothing

  1. 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.”


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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).
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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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