Warhawk

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person, typically in a political context, who advocates for the use of military force or war to achieve national goals
2. Someone who promotes aggressive policies and military action rather than diplomatic solutions
3. An individual who supports armed conflict as a means to resolve disputes or enhance security strategies

Etymology: The most famous coiner of the term is John Randolph of Roanoke, a Virginia congressman, who is often credited with popularizing it in the debates leading up to the War of 1812. The phrase was not invented by him, though: newspaper articles from before the war already used it, and none of them attribute it to Randolph. Its origin is therefore a matter of attribution rather than a documented first use. The "hawk" element is an ordinary bird name, and in the sense of a bird of prey it suggests a swift, aggressive attacker. Applying it to politicians who favored armed conflict drew on that image of a predator eager to strike. The word "warhawk" is simply the same compound written as one word, and the bird sense "eagle" in an older form of the phrase is probably a calque of Old English "guþhafoc", meaning "war-hawk".

Synonyms: hawk, militarist, belligerent, aggressor, interventionist

Antonyms: dove, peacemaker, pacifist, noninterventionist, conciliator