cunningly
Americanadverb
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in a way that shows ingenuity or shrewdness.
The game introduces basic principles of coding and develops problem-solving prowess while cunningly disguised as just another game.
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Informal. in a way that is charmingly cute or appealing.
The cunningly named FarmHouse Hotel reflects the quaint beauty of the English countryside.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of cunningly
Explanation
To do something cunningly is to do it in a crafty, sneaky, and skillful manner. You might cunningly distract your parents so your brother can sneak a few extra cookies from the cookie jar. Just make sure he shares. If you do something cunningly, you are being a little sneaky. You might cunningly compliment your mom just to get on her good side before she sees your report card. Your best friend might lie so cunningly that people always believe him, while your awkward fibs get you caught every time. Cunningly comes from the adjective cunning, based on the now-obsolete verb cunnen, "to know."
Vocabulary lists containing cunningly
"The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe
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The Jungle Book
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Part 2 Vocabulary (Unit 1)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Cunningly, Jez and John-Henry Butterworth’s “The Agency” — a remake of the French series “Le Bureau des Légendes”— pushes its central character to question that arrangement.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 11, 2025
Cunningly labeled the BQP, for Brooklyn-Queens Park, BIG’s plan has been quietly circulating among community leaders and transportation officials for a few weeks.
From New York Times • Apr. 10, 2019
Cunningly, the camera returns, repeatedly, to shots of viewers watching the news: a couple in bed, interns in a hospital, employees at a pub.
From The New Yorker • Dec. 29, 2014
Cunningly modelled on business self-help books and written in the second person, it's fast, funny and clever: a propulsive, eye-opening read.
From The Guardian • Jun. 29, 2013
Already envy From out his rocky ambush Upon thee turns The force of his lynx-like eyes, Stretches his talons, On thee falls, In thy shoulders Cunningly plants them.
From The Poems of Goethe Translated in the original metres by Bowring, Edgar Alfred
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
