Showing results for "cunning"

• present participle of can.

cunning

American  

[kuhn-ing] / ˈkʌn ɪŋ /

noun

1. skill employed in a shrewd or sly manner, as in deceiving; craftiness; guile.

   Synonyms:

   deception, intrigue, trickery

2. adeptness in performance; dexterity.

   The weaver's hand had not lost its cunning.

   Synonyms:

   agility, adroitness

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adjective

1. showing or made with ingenuity.

   Synonyms:

   skillful, ingenious

2. artfully subtle or shrewd; crafty; sly.

   Synonyms:

   foxy, tricky, wily, artful

3. Informal. charmingly cute or appealing.

   a cunning little baby.

4. Archaic. skillful; expert.

verb

1. Obsolete. present participle of can.

cunning British  

/ ˈkʌnɪŋ /

adjective

1. crafty and shrewd, esp in deception; sly

   cunning as a fox

2. made with or showing skill or cleverness; ingenious

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noun

1. craftiness, esp in deceiving; slyness

2. cleverness, skill, or ingenuity

Synonym Usage

Cunning, artifice, craft imply an inclination toward deceit, slyness, and trickery. Cunning implies a shrewd, often instinctive skill in concealing or disguising the real purposes of one's actions: not intelligence but a low kind of cunning. An artifice is a clever, unscrupulous ruse, used to mislead others: a successful artifice to conceal one's motives. Craft suggests underhand methods and the use of deceptive devices and tricks to attain one's ends: craft and deceitfulness in every act.

Other Word Forms

• cunningness
  noun
• overcunningness
  noun
• overcunning
  adjective
• quasi-cunning
  adjective
• cunningly
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of cunning

First recorded in 1275–1325; (noun) Middle English; Old English cunnung, equivalent to cunn(an) “to know” ( can ¹ ) + -ung -ing ¹; (adjective, verb) Middle English, present participle of cunnan “to know” ( can ¹, -ing ² )

Explanation

In fairy tales, always watch out for the cunning fox or the cunning witch. Cunning means clever, in the sense of trickery. A cunning plan might involve setting traps for the innocent and pure at heart to fall into. This adjective goes back to the 14th-century English verb cunnen, which meant "to know," and is actually related to our English verb know. In earlier times, the noun was used to mean a high level of skill in using the hands. You can be cunning, but you can also use your cunning to figure out a very clever and tricky plan.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cunning

The headline on the front page of the Daily Star reads: "Andy: I have a cunning plan..."

From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026

He is cunning, not intelligent — something he unwittingly proves every time he claims that passing a basic mental competency test shows his brilliance.

From Salon ● Jul. 6, 2026

In the aughts, Chase also appeared in more than 20 episodes of the Fox sitcom “Oliver Beene” and over 30 episodes of HBO’s Emmy-nominated Mormon family drama “Big Love” as cunning teenager Rhonda Volmer.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026

"King George, as you know, never set foot in America. And please rest assured, ladies and gentlemen, I am not here as part of some cunning rearguard action."

From Barron's ● Apr. 29, 2026

“But, Sara Louise Bradshaw, this medal is yours. You have earned it with your great cunning and bravery. Keep it and hand it down to your children’s children.”

From "Jacob Have I Loved" by Katherine Paterson