wolf in sheep's clothing
/ˈwʊlf ɪn ˈʃiːps ˈkləʊðɪŋ/
"wolf-in-sheep-s-clothing" is a 20-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“wolf in sheep's clothing” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 24
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Someone who or something which is harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | wolf in sheep's clothing |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈwʊlf ɪn ˈʃiːps ˈkləʊðɪŋ/ |
| Letters | 24 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “wolf in sheep's clothing” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
wolf in sheep's clothing is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈwʊlf ɪn ˈʃiːps ˈkləʊðɪŋ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Someone who or something which is harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant.".
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for wolf in sheep's clothing, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: 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.” The correct English form is wolf in sheep's clothing, spelled W-O-L-F- -I-N- -S-H-E-E-P-'-S- -C-L-O-T-H-I-N-G.
Definition
- 1Someone who or something which is harmful or threatening but disguised as something peaceful or pleasant.
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.”
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “wolf in sheep's clothing”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is W-O-L-F- -I-N- -S-H-E-E-P-'-S- -C-L-O-T-H-I-N-G - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈwʊlf ɪn ˈʃiːps ˈkləʊðɪŋ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.