Phrase guide

wolf in sheep's clothing

noun · 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

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈwʊlf ɪn ˈʃiːps ˈkləʊðɪŋ/
  • General-American: /ˈwʊlf ən ˈʃips ˈkloʊðɪŋ/
  • General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Someone who or something which is harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: wolf in a lamb's skin, backstabber, betrayer, cockatrice, double-crosser, quisling, rat, ratter, recreant, renegade, serpent, snake, snake in the grass, swike, traitor, treacher, treacherer, treasonist, turntippet, withersake, wolf in sheep's clothing

Antonyms: paper tiger, sheep in wolf's clothing

History

Etymology

From Matthew 7:15 in the Bible (King James Version; spelling modernized): “Beware of false prophets which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.”

Across languages

Translations

61 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Albanian: ujk me lëkurë qengji — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • Arabic: ذِئْبٌ فِي ثَوْبِ حَمَلٍ (ḏiʔbun fī ṯawbi ḥamalin) — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • Belarusian: воўк у авечай шкуры (vowk u avječaj škury) — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • Chechen: кан хийцина борз (kan xiı̇cina borz) — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • Chinese Mandarin: 披著羊皮的狼 (pī zhe yángpí de láng) — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • Chinese Mandarin: 笑裡藏刀 /笑里藏刀 (xiàolǐcángdāo) — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • Chinese Mandarin: 黃鼠狼給雞拜年——沒安好心 /黄鼠狼给鸡拜年——没安好心 (huángshǔláng gěi jī bàinián, méi ān hǎoxīn) — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • Czech: vlk v rouše beránčím — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • Danish: ulv i fåreklæder — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • Dutch: wolf in schaapskleren — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • Finnish: susi lampaan vaatteissa — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • French: loup déguisé en agneau — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • French: loup déguisé en brebis — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • French: loup déguisé en mouton — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • Galician: lobo con pel de ovella — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • Georgian: მგელი ცხვრის ტყავში (mgeli cxvris ṭq̇avši) — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • German: Wolf im Schafspelz — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • Greek: λύκος εις δέρμα προβάτου (lýkos eis dérma provátou) — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • Greek: λύκος ντυμένος πρόβατο (lýkos ntyménos próvato) — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • Hindi: भेड़ की खाल में भेड़िया (bheṛ kī khāl mẽ bheṛiyā) — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • Hungarian: báránybőrbe bújt farkas — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • Icelandic: úlfur í sauðargæru — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • Icelandic: úlfur undir sauðargæru — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • Indonesian: serigala berbulu domba — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • Italian: lupo travestito da agnello — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • Japanese: 羊の皮を着た狼 (hitsuji no kawa o kita ōkami) — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • Korean: 내숭 (naesung) — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • Central Kurdish: گورگ لە پێستی مەڕ (gurg le pêstî merr) — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • Kyrgyz: кой терисин жамынган карышкыр (koy terisin jamıngan karışkır) — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • Latin: lupus in vestimentum ovium — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • Latvian: vilks aitas ādā — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • Lithuanian: vilkas avies kailyje — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • Malagasy: amboadia mitafy hodi-janak' ondry — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • Malay: musang berbulu ayam — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • Malay: serigala berbulu domba — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • Norwegian: ulv i fåreklær — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • Persian: گرگ در لباس میش (gorg dar lebâs-e miš) — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • Polish: wilk w owczej skórze — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • Polish: wilk w jagnięcej skórze — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • Portuguese: lobo em pele de cordeiro — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • Romanian: lup îmbrăcat în piele de oaie — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • Russian: волк в ове́чьей шку́ре (volk v ovéčʹjej škúre) — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • Scottish Gaelic: an sionnach ann an craiceann na caorach — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • Serbo-Croatian: vuk u janjećoj koži — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • Serbo-Croatian: vuk u ovčjoj koži — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • Slovene: volk v ovčji koži — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • Spanish: un lobo con piel de cordero — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • Spanish: lobo con piel de oveja — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • Spanish: lobo disfrazado de cordero — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • Spanish: mosca muerta — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • Spanish: mosquita muerta — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • Swedish: ulv i fårakläder — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • Telugu: మేక వన్నె పులి (mēka vanne puli) — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • Udmurt: вылаз—ыжку, пушказ—кион — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • Ukrainian: вовк в ове́чій шку́рі (vovk v ovéčij škúri) — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • Vietnamese: miệng nam mô, bụng một bồ dao găm — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • Vietnamese: miệng nam mô, bụng bồ dao găm — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • Vietnamese: miệng bồ tát dạ ớt ngâm — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • Vietnamese: sói đội lốt cừu — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • Vietnamese: khẩu phật tâm xà — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant
  • Vietnamese: ném đá giấu tay — someone or something harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant