Phrase guide

man is a wolf to man

proverb · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

proverb

Meaning 1

Humans are often cruel, predatory, and inhumane towards each other.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Calque of Latin homō hominī lupus est.

Across languages

Translations

10 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Dutch: de mens is de mens een wolf — humans prey upon one another
  • Finnish: ihminen on ihmiselle susi — humans prey upon one another
  • French: l'homme est un loup pour l'homme — humans prey upon one another
  • Hebrew: אָדָם לְאָדָם זְאֵב (adám l'adám z'ev) — humans prey upon one another
  • Hungarian: ember embernek farkasa — humans prey upon one another
  • Latin: homō hominī lupus est — humans prey upon one another
  • Polish: człowiek człowiekowi wilkiem — humans prey upon one another
  • Polish: kruk krukowi oka nie wykole — humans prey upon one another
  • Portuguese: o homem é o lobo do homem — humans prey upon one another
  • Russian: челове́к челове́ку волк (čelovék čelovéku volk) — humans prey upon one another