cunning

[ kuhn-ing ]

See synonyms for: cunning cunnings cunningly cunningness on Thesaurus.com

noun

skill employed in a shrewd or sly manner, as in deceiving; craftiness; guile.
adeptness in performance; dexterity: The weaver's hand had not lost its cunning.

adjective

showing or made with ingenuity.
artfully subtle or shrewd; crafty; sly.

Informal. charmingly cute or appealing: a cunning little baby.
Archaic. skillful; expert.

verb

Obsolete. present participle of can¹.

Origin of cunning

First recorded in 1275–1325; (noun) Middle English; Old English cunnung, equivalent to cunn(an) “to know” (see can¹) + -ung -ing¹; (adjective, verb) Middle English, present participle of cunnan “to know” (see can¹, -ing²)

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 for cunning

1	shrewdness, artfulness, wiliness, slyness, trickery, intrigue, deception
2	adeptness, adroitness, agility, skillfulness
3	ingenious, skillful
4	artful, wily, tricky, foxy

See synonyms for cunning on Thesaurus.com

Other words from cunning

cun·ning·ly, adverb
cun·ning·ness, noun
o·ver·cun·ning, adjective
o·ver·cun·ning·ness, noun
qua·si-cun·ning, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use cunning in a sentence

How Pemberton and Candler pulled this off is a mixture of invention, capitalism and hard work, served with an ounce of cunning — and just a few milligrams of cocaine.
Listen to ‘The Food That Built America,’ a New Podcast From OZY and the History Channel | Sean Braswell | February 4, 2021 | Ozy
His was a corporation that in its ruthless ability to crush rivals was cunning but patient, always willing to undercut profits today in the service of riches tomorrow.
Oil companies’ losses in 2020 were staggering. And that was before the government focused on climate change. | Will Englund | February 4, 2021 | Washington Post
Before the bishop spoke agin you could see his craziness and his cunningness both working in his face.
Danny's Own Story | Don Marquis
Masters may be more cunning than slaves, but cunningness is not an evidence of a high order of intellectual power.
Communism and Christianism | William Montgomery Brown
Field went away rather impressed by the cunningness of the dodge.
The Slave of Silence | Fred M. White

Among the wounded was the celebrated chief, Cappayoho, noted among all tribes for his great daring and cunningness in battle.
Torrey's Narrative | William Torrey
Revolving this in his mind, Ned saw the cunningness of the two men's movements, if they had actually escaped from Joliet.
The Dreadnought Boys on Battle Practice | John Henry Goldfrap

British Dictionary definitions for cunning

cunning

/ (ˈkʌnɪŋ) /

adjective

crafty and shrewd, esp in deception; sly: cunning as a fox
made with or showing skill or cleverness; ingenious

noun

craftiness, esp in deceiving; slyness
cleverness, skill, or ingenuity

Origin of cunning

Old English cunnende; related to cunnan to know (see can 1), cunnian to test, experience, Old Norse kunna to know

Derived forms of cunning

cunningly, adverb
cunningness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Browse