Meaning & use
wily
Skilled at achieving goals through cunning, clever tricks, or deception rather than direct or honest means.
See it in a sentence
The wily fox slipped past the guard dogs without making a single sound.
A wily negotiator, she always seemed to know her opponent's next move before he made it.
A note on using this word
Wily often carries a hint of grudging admiration for someone's cleverness, even when their methods are questionable.
Words with a similar meaning
cunningcrafty
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Words with an opposite meaning
naiveartless
Make it your own
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