guile
Americannoun
noun
Synonym Usage
See duplicity.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of guile
1175–1225; Middle English < Old French < Germanic; akin to wile
Explanation
Use the noun guile for cunning, craftiness, and artful duplicity. Acting like you have a job on Wall Street when you're actually unemployed would take a lot of guile. The noun guile has quite negative connotations, as it refers to the kind of knowledge and skill that can be used by comic book villains for evil and not good! People who have guile are also thought of as being wily (which is also a related word), sneaky, and deceitful. Those who are free of guile are pure and upstanding, and Henry David Thoreau affirms those feelings when he writes: "It is the work of a brave man surely, in whom there was no guile!"
Vocabulary lists containing guile
The Crucible
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"The Crucible" -- Vocabulary from all 4 Acts
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Grade 11, List 2
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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.
But unlike other aging vets who stay afloat with guile and experience, Rose has blended the wisdom of years with a full-on embrace of younger methods, retooling everything from his swing to his fitness routines.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026
Howe's side have often lacked the guile to find a way through a low block, which then feeds into their main issue on the road - a lack of goals.
From BBC • Jan. 28, 2026
The hosts lacked the guile to unlock a stubborn defence once again in the second half - just a week after failing to find the back of the net against bottom of the table Wolves.
From BBC • Jan. 25, 2026
Harmer outdid the Indian spinners in their own den with his guile and turn.
From Barron's • Nov. 26, 2025
We proceeded along the street, marching warily to avoid the assaults of guile unmoved by the fear of bombardment; the shops and warehouses to either side of us were evidently deserted.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
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.
