slickness

noun

Definition of slicknessnext
as in cunning
skill in achieving one's ends through indirect, subtle, or underhanded means we were both impressed and outraged by the expert slickness with which the swindler fooled us

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for slickness
  1. cunning
  2. subtlety
  3. ease
  4. guile
Noun
  • There’s an unapologetic cunning at the heart of this series, and a mercurial spirit that’s as slippery as blood on an Italian marble floor.
    Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 4 Apr. 2024
  • Just as Nordlinger shows that the peacemakers and Nobel laureates whose work holds up best are those who brought specific conflicts to an end, the organizations in Bob's account that get the most done are those that pursue limited goals with cunning and patience.
    Walter Russell Mead, Foreign Affairs, 1 Nov. 2012
Definition of cunning
Noun
  • The intricate subtleties and emotional expressiveness of the film’s lions were pushed to new levels.
    Bill Desowitz, IndieWire, 13 Jan. 2025
  • This was a crystallizing moment in my teaching career: what afflicts literature, more than book banning, is this rapid loss of the ability to read for deeper meanings, to grasp subtlety, and to understand ambiguity.
    Yiyun Li, Harper's Magazine, 2 Nov. 2024
Definition of subtlety
Noun
  • The 28-year-old appears at ease despite the chaos swirling around her.
    Lyndsey Havens, Billboard, 9 Jan. 2025
  • Expand Your Comfort Zone Your ultimate goal is to feel at ease in challenging situations.
    Kazuyoshi Hisano, Forbes, 8 Jan. 2025
Definition of ease
Noun
  • Getting out doesn’t just require thumb-shredding dexterity, wit, and guile but also — fittingly for its premise — patience.
    Lewis Gordon, Vulture, 5 Dec. 2024
  • Over time, guile took on the connotation of deceitful cunning in English, emerging in Middle English around the 12th century.
    Erik Kain, Forbes, 1 Dec. 2024
Definition of guile
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Thesaurus Entries Near slickness

slickly

slickness

slicks

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Cite this Entry

“Slickness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/slickness. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.

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