Synonyms

guile

American

[gahyl] / gaɪl /

noun

insidious cunning in attaining a goal; crafty or artful deception; duplicity.

Synonyms:

craft, fraud, trickery

guile British

/ ɡaɪl /

noun

clever or crafty character or behaviour

"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

Related Words

See duplicity.

Other Word Forms

guileful adjective
guilefully adverb
guilefulness noun

Etymology

Origin of guile

1175–1225; Middle English < Old French < Germanic; akin to wile

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.

While the WSL is still a league with a divide between haves and have-nots, those that have still need guile and adaptability to beat sides lower in the division.

From BBC

Harmer outdid the Indian spinners in their own den with his guile and turn.

From Barron's

“She was hilarious, a complete original, and completely without guile, or any of the competitiveness one would have expected from such a star,” wrote actor Bette Midler on Instagram.

From Los Angeles Times

A winning combination of discipline and guile from the spinners put Bangladesh in a great position as, for the third time in four World Cup matches, South Africa's top-order crumbled.

From BBC

"She was hilarious, a complete original, and completely without guile, or any of the competitiveness one would have expected from such a star. What you saw was who she was ... oh, la, lala!"

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023