1
as in cunning
clever at attaining one's ends by indirect and often deceptive means
we always left it to our most devious friends to find out the latest information
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2
as in twisted
marked by a long series of irregular curves
a devious trail through the swampland
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3
as in unnatural
departing from some accepted standard of what is normal
her behavior is devious because of a developmental disorder
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Examples of devious in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
And then, before the ink was even close to dry on those update mandates, along came the cyber sleuths at Check Point Research, warning that a new variant of the devious Phemedrone Stealer has just been enhanced and is actively stealing crypto from unpatched Windows PCs.
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Zak Doffman, Forbes, 17 Aug. 2024
Shadowed by the murder of his family, Caligula (Malcolm McDowell) eliminates his devious adoptive grandfather (Peter O’Toole) and seizes control of the Roman Empire alongside his wife Caesonia (Helen Mirren) before descending into a spiral of depravity, destruction, and madness.
—Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 16 Aug. 2024
Her devious and delicious game play helped land the Peacock series — already a 2023 Emmy winner for outstanding casting — a 2024 Emmy nomination for outstanding reality competition program.
—Dave Quinn, Peoplemag, 29 July 2024
The The Good Wife star, who once dazzled audiences as Eli Gold, now serves as the master of ceremonies for Peacock’s deliciously devious murder mystery competition, The Traitors.
—Shania Russell, EW.com, 11 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for devious 
Zak Doffman, Forbes, 17 Aug. 2024
Shadowed by the murder of his family, Caligula (Malcolm McDowell) eliminates his devious adoptive grandfather (Peter O’Toole) and seizes control of the Roman Empire alongside his wife Caesonia (Helen Mirren) before descending into a spiral of depravity, destruction, and madness.
—Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 16 Aug. 2024
Her devious and delicious game play helped land the Peacock series — already a 2023 Emmy winner for outstanding casting — a 2024 Emmy nomination for outstanding reality competition program.
—Dave Quinn, Peoplemag, 29 July 2024
The The Good Wife star, who once dazzled audiences as Eli Gold, now serves as the master of ceremonies for Peacock’s deliciously devious murder mystery competition, The Traitors.
—Shania Russell, EW.com, 11 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for devious
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'devious.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Devious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/devious. Accessed 1 Oct. 2024.
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