Resembling a dog in appearance, behavior, or qualities; having characteristics typical of dogs such as loyalty, devotion, or slavishness.
Compound adjective from 'dog' plus '-like,' a suffix forming adjectives meaning 'having the quality or resemblance of.' The '-like' suffix comes from Old English 'gelic' meaning 'similar.'
When we say someone is 'doglike,' we're usually emphasizing either admirable traits (loyalty) or demeaning ones (blind obedience)—the same word carries positive and negative weight depending on context.
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