a leopard can't change its spots

Register · Neutral Neutral — appropriate in most situations, both spoken and written, without sounding too casual or too stiff. CEFR C1

Post

Example

“He promised to be more honest, but a leopard can't change its spots.”

Dictionary details

Tags

Expressions connected by reviewed component words or topic tags.

better late than never Neutral · CEFR A2

Doing something after a delay is better than not doing it at all.

actions speak louder than words Neutral · CEFR B1

What you do matters more than what you say.

don't judge a book by its cover Neutral · CEFR B1

appearances can be misleading, so assess things properly

every cloud has a silver lining Neutral · CEFR B1

Every difficult situation has some hopeful or positive aspect.

every which way Informal · CEFR B1

in every direction, often in a scattered or disorderly way

go downhill Neutral · CEFR B1

to become progressively worse in condition, quality, or performance

Source methodology

Meanings, register, CEFR, and examples come from the reviewed dictionary record. Expression notes may describe a reviewed present-day word picture or a background note; they are not presented as verified etymology.

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