Meanings
alternative who keeps company with wolves, will learn to howl
- A person tends to acquire the characteristics of those with whom they associate.
Do not associate with a person who is malicious, selfish, or unkind As people say, “Who keeps company with the wolf will learn to howl."
2015, Yukiko Inoue-Smith, A Jungle Named Academia: Approaches to Self-Development and Growth, →ISBN2 more examples
Do not associate with a person who is malicious, selfish, or unkind As a proverb goes, “Who keeps company with the wolf, will learn to howl” (in other words, “If you touch vermillion, you will become of the same color”).
2012, Yukiko Inoue-Smith, A Shawl of Mist: Tanka, →ISBNBelieve it or not but you one way or another have the same bad aspects in your personality. “Who keeps company with the wolf will learn to howl” is said for a reason.
2015, A. Joy Lee, Success inside youSynonyms: if you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas, if you fly with the crows, you get shot with the crows
Synonyms & antonyms
proverbA person tends to acquire the characteristics of those with whom they associate.
Origin
Often attributed to Will Graves.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Cantonese 臭罌出臭草 /臭罂出臭草
- 臭罌出臭草 /臭罂出臭草 (cau³ aang¹ ceot¹ cau³ cou²)Translations
Chinese Mandarin 近朱者赤，近墨者黑
- 近朱者赤，近墨者黑 (jìn zhū zhě chì, jìn mò zhě hēi)Translations
Finnish seura tekee kaltaisekseen
- seura tekee kaltaisekseenTranslations
Japanese 朱に交われば赤くなる
- 朱に交われば赤くなる (shu ni majiwareba akaku naru)Translations
Turkish kır atın yanında duran ya huyundan ya suyundan
- kır atın yanında duran ya huyundan ya suyundanTranslations
Cite this entry
who keeps company with the wolf will learn to howl. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/who%20keeps%20company%20with%20the%20wolf%20will%20learn%20to%20howl
“who keeps company with the wolf will learn to howl.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/who%20keeps%20company%20with%20the%20wolf%20will%20learn%20to%20howl. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “who keeps company with the wolf will learn to howl,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/who%20keeps%20company%20with%20the%20wolf%20will%20learn%20to%20howl.
Source: who keeps company with the wolf will learn to howl on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.