Cunning

/ˈkʌnɪŋ/ · adjective

Meaning

Sly; crafty; clever in surreptitious behaviour..

Definitions by Sense

1. Sly; crafty; clever in surreptitious behaviour.
2. (obsolete) Skillful, artful.
3. (obsolete) Wrought with, or exhibiting, skill or ingenuity; ingenious.
4. (Maine, colloquial, dated) Cute, appealing.
5. Practical knowledge or experience; aptitude in performance; skill, proficiency; dexterity.
6. Practical skill employed in a secret or crafty manner; craft; artifice; skillful deceit; art or magic.
7. The disposition to employ one's skill in an artful manner; craftiness; guile; artifice; skill of being cunning, sly, conniving, or deceitful.
8. The natural wit or instincts of an animal.

Example Sentences

They are resolved to be cunning; let others run the hazard of being sincere.

Esau was a cunning hunter.

a cunning workman

Tis beauty truly blent, whose red and white / Nature's own sweet and cunning hand laid on.

cunning work

Over them Arachne high did lift / Her cunning web.

everybody gives something to the cunning little boy; his eyes are large and soft, and he wears a pointed hat, and tight breeches, and jacket

“I shan't mind that at all, I like the little house 'cause it's got a garden, and there's a cunning room with a three-cornered closet in it that I always wanted.[…]”

Synonyms for cunning

Antonyms for cunning

Related Words

Word Forms

• more cunning
• most cunning
• cunnings

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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