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cunning
[ kuhn-ing ]
/ ËkÊn ÉȘĆ /
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This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
noun
adjective
verb
Obsolete. present participle of can1.
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Origin of cunning
synonym study for cunning
1. 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 WORDS FROM cunning
Words nearby cunning
Cunha, cuniculus, cunjevoi, cunner, cunnilingus, cunning, Cunningham, Cunninghame Graham, cunningly, Cunobelinus, cunt
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022
How to use cunning in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for cunning
cunning
/ (ËkÊnÉȘĆ) /
adjective
crafty and shrewd, esp in deception; slycunning as a fox
made with or showing skill or cleverness; ingenious
noun
craftiness, esp in deceiving; slyness
cleverness, skill, or ingenuity
Derived forms of cunning
cunningly, adverbcunningness, nounWord Origin for cunning
Old English cunnende; related to cunnan to know (see can 1), cunnian to test, experience, Old Norse kunna to know
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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