Hawkishness

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The trait of showing a strong inclination towards militarism or the advocacy of confrontational policies in foreign affairs
2. An attribute marked by a preference for assertive military actions and opposition to diplomatic solutions in international relations
3. A tendency to support forceful or aggressive measures, especially in political or military contexts

Etymology: Hawkishness is a plain formation: the adjective "hawkish" with the suffix "-ness" added to turn a quality into a noun. The adjective itself comes from the ordinary bird name. Old English "hafoc" (a hawk) passed through Middle English "hauk" into modern English "hawk," and the suffix "-ish" was added to it, meaning "having the character of" or "like," which gives "hawkish." Its meaning moved from the bird's predatory nature to a temperament, and then to a political stance. The "-ness" ending comes from Old English "-nes," which turns an adjective into a noun for a state or quality, as in "kindness" or "darkness." It was joined to "hawkish" in the way English routinely forms such nouns, so the word needed no special coinage. Its meaning follows directly from the adjective: the quality of being hawkish, in the sense of favouring aggressive or forceful action, particularly in military or foreign policy.

Synonyms: aggressiveness, belligerence, militarism, interventionism, assertiveness

Antonyms: dovishness, pacifism, nonintervention, passivity, conciliation