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Sly synonyms

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wily
Sly, cunning, full of tricks
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  1. Sly, cunning, full of tricks
  2. Full of wiles; crafty; sly
tricky
Hard to deal with, complicated
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  1. Hard to deal with, complicated
  2. Like a trick in deceptiveness or intricacy
  3. Adept at using deception
foxy
Foxlike; crafty; wily; sly
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  1. Foxlike; crafty; wily; sly
  2. Discolored by brownish or yellowish stains, as the leaves of an old book
  3. (Slang) Attractive, stylish, etc.; specif., sexually attractive
shifty
(Informal) Having or showing a tricky or deceitful nature; evasive
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  1. (Informal) Having or showing a tricky or deceitful nature; evasive
  2. Able to accomplish what is needed; resourceful.
  3. Distinguished by frequent changes in direction:
insidious
Beguiling but harmful; alluring:
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  1. Beguiling but harmful; alluring:
  2. Intended to entrap; treacherous:
  3. Working harm in a slow or subtle manner; hence, more dangerous than seems evident
artful
Cunning; disposed to cunning indirectness of dealing; crafty; as, an artful boy. [The usual sense.]
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  1. Cunning; disposed to cunning indirectness of dealing; crafty; as, an artful boy. [The usual sense.]
  2. Skillful in accomplishing a purpose, especially by the use of cunning or craft.
  3. Done with, using, or showing much art or skill
shrewd
Having or showing a clever awareness or resourcefulness, especially in practical matters.
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  1. Having or showing a clever awareness or resourcefulness, especially in practical matters.
  2. Artful, tricky or cunning
  3. Artful, cunning, wily, etc. in one's dealings with others
designing
Scheming; crafty; artful
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  1. Scheming; crafty; artful
  2. Artful; scheming
  3. That designs, or makes plans, patterns, etc.
deceitful
Deceptive in multiple ways
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  1. Deceptive in multiple ways
  2. Tending to deceive; apt to lie or cheat
  3. Deliberately misleading or cheating
guileful
Full of guile; deceitfully or treacherously cunning.
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  1. Full of guile; deceitfully or treacherously cunning.
scheming
(Pejorative) Tending to scheme.
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  1. (Pejorative) Tending to scheme.
  2. Given to forming schemes or plots; crafty, tricky, deceitful, etc.
captious
Intended to entrap or confuse, as in an argument:
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  1. Intended to entrap or confuse, as in an argument:
  2. Made only for the sake of argument or faultfinding
  3. Fond of catching others in mistakes; quick to find fault; quibbling; carping
intriguing
Exciting interest or curiosity; fascinating
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  1. Exciting interest or curiosity; fascinating
cunning
Delicately pleasing; pretty or cute:
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  1. Delicately pleasing; pretty or cute:
  2. Attractive or pretty in a delicate way; cute
  3. Made or done with skill or ingenuity
unscrupulous
Not scrupulous; not restrained by ideas of right and wrong; unprincipled
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  1. Not scrupulous; not restrained by ideas of right and wrong; unprincipled
  2. Without scruples; immoral.
deceptive
Deceiving or intended to deceive
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  1. Deceiving or intended to deceive
  2. Deceiving or tending to deceive:
  3. Misleading, likely or attempting to deceive
calculating
Shrewd or cunning, esp. in a selfish way; scheming
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  1. Shrewd or cunning, esp. in a selfish way; scheming
  2. Shrewd; crafty:
  3. (Especially of a person) Which serves one's own interests in an unemotional, analytical manner.
elusive
Tending to elude capture, perception, comprehension, or memory:
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  1. Tending to elude capture, perception, comprehension, or memory:
  2. Hard to grasp or retain mentally; baffling
  3. Difficult to define or describe:
delusive
Tending to delude; misleading
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  1. Tending to delude; misleading
  2. Having the nature of a delusion; false:
  3. Of or like a delusion; unreal
illusory
Producing, based on, or having the nature of, illusion; deceptive; unreal
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  1. Producing, based on, or having the nature of, illusion; deceptive; unreal
  2. Resulting from an illusion; deceptive, imaginary, unreal
  3. Produced by, based on, or having the nature of an illusion; deceptive:
dishonest
Resulting from or marked by a lack of honesty.
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  1. Resulting from or marked by a lack of honesty.
  2. Disposed to lie, cheat, defraud, or deceive.
  3. Not honest; lying, cheating, etc.
mealy-mouthed
Not willing to state the facts in simple, direct words; euphemistic and insincere
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  1. Not willing to state the facts in simple, direct words; euphemistic and insincere
treacherous
Giving a false appearance of safety or reliability; untrustworthy or insecure
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  1. Giving a false appearance of safety or reliability; untrustworthy or insecure
  2. Characterized by unforeseen or hidden hazards; dangerous or deceptive:
  3. Guilty of or characterized by betrayal of confidence or trust; perfidious.
underhanded
Done by moving the hand (arm) from below.
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  1. Done by moving the hand (arm) from below.
  2. Acting or done in a deceptive, secret, or sly manner; dishonest and sneaky.
  3. Sly, dishonest, corrupt, cheating.
sneaking
Gradually growing or persistent:
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  1. Gradually growing or persistent:
  2. Acting in a stealthy, furtive way.
  3. Not admitted or made known to others; secret
double-dealing
Duplicitous or deceitful; treacherous.
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  1. Duplicitous or deceitful; treacherous.
  2. (Of a person) Cheating, dishonest; treacherous.
faithless
Not keeping faith; dishonest; disloyal
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  1. Not keeping faith; dishonest; disloyal
  2. Not true to duty or obligation; disloyal or unfaithful.
  3. Breaking trust in a marriage or relationship by having sexual relations with someone other than one's spouse or sexual partner.
traitorous
Characteristic of a traitor; disloyal
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  1. Characteristic of a traitor; disloyal
  2. Of, or having the nature of, a traitor; treacherous; faithless
  3. Having the character of a traitor; disloyal
sharp
Having clear form and detail:
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  1. Having clear form and detail:
  2. Suitable for use in cutting or piercing; having a very thin edge or fine point; keen
  3. Abrupt or acute:
smart
Capable of making adjustments that resemble those resulting from human decisions, chiefly by means of electronic sensors and computer technology:
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  1. Capable of making adjustments that resemble those resulting from human decisions, chiefly by means of electronic sensors and computer technology:
  2. Impertinent; insolent:
  3. Amusingly clever; witty:
ingenious
Clever, resourceful, original, and inventive
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  1. Clever, resourceful, original, and inventive
  2. Marked by or exhibiting originality or inventiveness:
  3. Made or done in a clever or original way
cagey
Uncommunicative; unwilling or hesitant to give information.
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  1. Uncommunicative; unwilling or hesitant to give information.
  2. Sly; tricky; cunning
  3. Careful not to get caught or fooled
canny
(Brit., Dial.) Good; nice; fine
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  1. (Brit., Dial.) Good; nice; fine
  2. (Scotland, Northumbrian) Pleasant, fair.
  3. (Northumbrian) Very or much.
dishonorable
Lacking integrity; unprincipled.
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  1. Lacking integrity; unprincipled.
  2. Lacking respect or ethical principles
  3. Without honor, or causing dishonor
crooked
Having a crook or hook
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  1. Having a crook or hook
  2. (Informal) Dishonest or unscrupulous; fraudulent.
  3. At an irregular or improper angle; askew:
mean
Miserly; stingy:
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  1. Miserly; stingy:
  2. Expressing spite or malice:
  3. Lacking in kindness; unkind:
dirty
Producing much fallout
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  1. Producing much fallout
  2. Expressing disapproval or hostility:
  3. Disagreeable or contemptible; mean; nasty
ratty
Of or characteristic of rats.
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  1. Of or characteristic of rats.
  2. Full of rats
  3. Of or like a rat
slick
Accomplished; adept; clever; ingenious
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  1. Accomplished; adept; clever; ingenious
  2. (Informal) Clever in deception or trickery; deceptively plausible; smooth
  3. (Informal) Having or showing skill in composition or technique but little depth or literary significance
smooth
Free from hair, whiskers, or stubble:
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  1. Free from hair, whiskers, or stubble:
  2. Having no obstructions or difficulties:
  3. Having an even or gentle motion or movement:
slippery
Subject to change
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  1. Subject to change
  2. (Figuratively, by extension) Evasive; difficult to pin down.
  3. Of a surface, having low friction, often due to being covered in a non-viscous liquid, and therefore hard to grip, hard to stand on without falling, etc.
shady
(Slang) Not trustworthy; Unfit to be seen or known.
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  1. (Slang) Not trustworthy; Unfit to be seen or known.
  2. Shaded, as from the sun; full of shade
  3. Full of shade; shaded:
clever
Exhibiting ingenuity or imagination; creative or artful:
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  1. Exhibiting ingenuity or imagination; creative or artful:
  2. Handsome, convenient, nice, etc.
  3. Skilled at accomplishing things, especially with the hands:
sharp
Sudden and brilliant or dazzling:
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  1. Sudden and brilliant or dazzling:
  2. Strongly affecting the senses of smell and taste:
  3. Fierce or impetuous; violent:
astute
Having or showing a clever or shrewd mind; cunning; crafty; wily
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  1. Having or showing a clever or shrewd mind; cunning; crafty; wily
  2. Having or showing shrewdness and discernment, especially with respect to one's own concerns.
furtive
Characterized by, acting with, or suggesting stealth or a desire to avoid discovery; surreptitious:
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  1. Characterized by, acting with, or suggesting stealth or a desire to avoid discovery; surreptitious:
  2. Done or acting in a stealthy manner, as if to hinder observation; surreptitious; stealthy; sneaky
evasive
Intentionally vague or ambiguous; equivocal:
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  1. Intentionally vague or ambiguous; equivocal:
  2. Hard to catch, grasp, etc.; elusive
  3. Tending or seeking to evade; not straightforward; tricky; equivocal
stealthy
Characterized by stealth; secret, furtive, or sly
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  1. Characterized by stealth; secret, furtive, or sly
  2. Characterized by or resembling stealth or secrecy.
  3. Marked by or acting with quiet, caution, and secrecy intended to avoid notice.
artful
Done with, using, or showing much art or skill
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  1. Done with, using, or showing much art or skill
  2. Skillful in accomplishing a purpose, especially by the use of cunning or craft.
  3. Sly or cunning; crafty
crafty
Skilled in or marked by underhandedness, deviousness, or deception.
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  1. Skilled in or marked by underhandedness, deviousness, or deception.
  2. Subtly deceitful; sly; cunning; artful
  3. Skillful at deceiving others; characterized by craft; cunning; wily.
cunning
(Now Rare) Skillful or clever
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  1. (Now Rare) Skillful or clever
  2. Attractive or pretty in a delicate way; cute
  3. Skillful in deception; sly; crafty
foxy
Having the reddish-brown color of a fox
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  1. Having the reddish-brown color of a fox
  2. Foxlike; crafty; wily; sly
  3. (Slang) Attractive, stylish, etc.; specif., sexually attractive
guileful
Full of guile; deceitfully or treacherously cunning.
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  1. Full of guile; deceitfully or treacherously cunning.
scheming
(Pejorative) Tending to scheme.
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  1. (Pejorative) Tending to scheme.
  2. Given to forming schemes or plots; crafty, tricky, deceitful, etc.
sharp
Abrupt or acute:
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  1. Abrupt or acute:
  2. Strongly affecting the senses of smell and taste:
  3. Fierce or impetuous; violent:
tricky
Hard to deal with, complicated
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  1. Hard to deal with, complicated
  2. Like a trick in deceptiveness or intricacy
  3. Requiring caution or skill:
wily
Sly, cunning, full of tricks
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  1. Sly, cunning, full of tricks
  2. Full of wiles; crafty; sly
furtive
Characterized by, acting with, or suggesting stealth or a desire to avoid discovery; surreptitious:
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  1. Characterized by, acting with, or suggesting stealth or a desire to avoid discovery; surreptitious:
  2. Done or acting in a stealthy manner, as if to hinder observation; surreptitious; stealthy; sneaky
secretive
Having a tendency to keep one's thoughts or activities unknown to others:
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  1. Having a tendency to keep one's thoughts or activities unknown to others:
  2. Tending to conceal one's thoughts, feelings, affairs, etc. from others; reticent; not frank or open
  3. Suggestive of the keeping of secrets:
sneaking
Gradually growing or persistent:
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  1. Gradually growing or persistent:
  2. Acting in a stealthy, furtive way.
  3. Not admitted or made known to others; secret
sneaky
Of or like a sneak; underhanded
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  1. Of or like a sneak; underhanded
  2. Difficult to catch due to constantly outwitting the adversaries
  3. Furtive; surreptitious.
surreptitious
Done, gotten, made, etc. in a secret, stealthy way; clandestine
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  1. Done, gotten, made, etc. in a secret, stealthy way; clandestine

Synonym Study

  • Wily implies the deceiving or ensnarement of others by subtle stratagems and ruses wily blandishments
  • Foxy suggests slyness and craftiness that have been sharpened by experience a foxy old trader
  • Tricky suggests a shifty, unreliable quality rather than cleverness at deception tricky subterfuges
  • Crafty implies an artful cunning in contriving stratagems and subtle deceptions a crafty diplomat
  • Cunning implies a cleverness or shrewd skillfulness at deception and circumvention a cunning plot
  • Sly implies a working to achieve one's ends by evasiveness, insinuation, furtiveness, duplicity, etc. a sly bargain
Find another word for sly. In this page you can discover 78 synonyms, antonyms, idiomatic expressions, and related words for sly, like: wily, tricky, foxy, shifty, insidious, artful, shrewd, designing, deceitful, guileful and scheming.

Sentence Examples

  • Cynthia asked with a sly smile.

  • "Boris, come here," said she with a sly and significant look.

  • His eyes too seemed strange; at one moment they looked impudently sly and at the next glanced round in alarm.

  • He developed four well-defined characters in the process - a country farmer, Ezekiel Biglow, and his son Hosea; the Rev. Homer Wilbur, a shrewd old-fashioned country minister; and Birdofredum Sawin, a Northern renegade who enters the army, together with one or two subordinate characters; and his stinging satire and sly humour are so set forth in the vernacular of New England as to give at once a historic dignity to this form of speech.

  • He could hear that Lavrushka--that sly, bold orderly of Denisov's--was talking, as well as the quartermaster.

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Words near sly in the Thesaurus