wily

adjective

ˈwī-lē 

wilier; wiliest

: full of wiles : crafty

a wily negotiator

wilily

ˈwī-lə-lē 

adverb

wiliness

ˈwī-lē-nəs 

noun

Synonyms

• artful
• beguiling
• cagey
• cagy
• crafty
• cunning
• cute
• designing
• devious
• dodgy [chiefly British]
• foxy
• guileful
• scheming
• shrewd
• slick
• sly
• subtle
• tricky

Choose the Right Synonym for wily

sly, cunning, crafty, wily, tricky, foxy, artful, slick mean attaining or seeking to attain one's ends by guileful or devious means.

sly implies furtiveness, lack of candor, and skill in concealing one's aims and methods.

a sly corporate raider

cunning suggests the inventive use of sometimes limited intelligence in overreaching or circumventing.

the cunning fox avoided the trap

crafty implies cleverness and subtlety of method.

a crafty lefthander

wily implies skill and deception in maneuvering.

the wily fugitive escaped the posse

tricky is more likely to suggest shiftiness and unreliability than skill in deception and maneuvering.

a tricky political operative

foxy implies a shrewd and wary craftiness usually involving devious dealing.

a foxy publicity man planting stories

artful implies indirectness in dealing and often connotes sophistication or cleverness.

elicited the information by artful questioning

slick emphasizes smoothness and guile.

slick operators selling time-sharing

Examples of wily in a Sentence

She turned out to be a wily negotiator.

a wily judge of character, she takes advantage of car buyers' insecurities to sell them a bigger machine than they really need

Recent Examples on the Web

The Democratic ticket is framing Trump as a chaotic leader easily taken advantage of by more wily foreign adversaries. —David Brennan, ABC News, 3 Nov. 2024

From 1986 to 1995, Andy Griffith enjoyed one of television’s most impressive second acts, playing a wily southern lawyer named Ben Matlock. —Noel Murray, Vulture, 15 Oct. 2024

Her Mel can be attentive and sympathetic one minute, yet very defensive and wily the next. —Diedre Johnson, TVLine, 9 Sep. 2024

Herpes viruses are wily and can stow away quietly in the roots of nerves. —Brenda Goodman, CNN, 30 July 2024

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

wily

adjective

ˈwī-lē 

wilier; wiliest

: full of deceit : tricky

a wily opponent

wiliness noun