vulpine means pertaining to a fox. It carries an Arena rating of 1645, earned across 5 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, vulpine ranks #1,193 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #1,355 of 17,104 for Most Storied Words, #1,532 of 17,127 for Most Vivid Words, #3,083 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books.
vulpine is pronounced /ˈvʌlpaɪn/.
Why “vulpine” is a great word
VULPINE — [Adjective] Pertaining to or characteristic of a fox, especially in being cunning or crafty. From the Latin vulpīnus ("foxy, fox-like"), from vulpēs ("fox"), from Proto-Indo-European *wl(o)p- ("fox"). Unlike "sly," which suggests a general, morally-tinged trickery, or "ursine," which conjures a bear's lumbering strength, "vulpine" evokes a specific, agile intelligence—the strategic cunning of the predator that moves at the edge of sight. It is the glint of amber eyes in the hedgerow at dusk, the near-silent pad of paws on damp leaves, and the precise warmth of a creature curled in its den, listening intently—a survival refined not by force, but by perpetual, tactical foresight.
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin vulpīnus (“foxy, fox-like”), from vulpēs, earlier volpēs (“fox”), from Proto-Indo-European *wl(o)p- (“fox”). Cognate with Welsh llywarn (“fox”), Ancient Greek ἀλώπηξ (alṓpēx), Armenian աղուէս (aġuēs), Albanian dhelpër, Lithuanian vilpišỹs (“wildcat”), Sanskrit लोपाश (lopāśa, “jackal, fox”).
adj
- Pertaining to a fox.e.g.“She dared not raise her eyes above the level of the tea-table, and she almost expected to see a spot of accusing vulpine blood drip down and stain the whiteness of the cloth.” — 1910, Saki [pseudonym; Hector Hugh Munro], “The Bag”, in Reginald in Russia and Other Sketches, London: Methuen & Co. […], →OCLC, page 80:
- Having the characteristics of a fox; foxlike; cunning.
noun
- Any of certain canids called foxes (including true foxes, arctic foxes and grey foxes), distinguished from canines, which are regarded as similar to dogs and wolves.e.g.“The family Canidae^([sic]) consists of two main subgroups, the vulpines (foxes) and the canines (wolves, coyotes, jackals, and dogs), and some intermediate “fox-dog” forms from South America.” — 1980, Michael Wilson Fox, The Soul of the Wolf, page 127:
- A person considered cunning.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.