cunning

cun-ning · adjective

imported

Definitions

adjective

  1. 1.

    Having or showing skill in achieving one's ends through deceit or evasion.

  2. 2.

    Skill in achieving one's ends through deceit.

  3. 3.

    Ingeniously made or devised.

  4. 4.

    Skill or cleverness.

  5. 5.

    (US, informal, dated) Attractively small or quaint.

Phrases & expressions

  • •
    cunning as a fox — very shrewd and clever
  • •
    cunning plan — a clever but often devious scheme

Related words

Antonyms: guileless, innocent, naive
See also: clever, crafty, sly
Synonyms: clever, crafty, shrewd, sly, wily

Etymology

From Old English "cunnan" (to know), related to "can." Originally meant "knowledgeable" before acquiring connotations of craftiness.