guile

[gahyl]

See more synonyms for guile on Thesaurus.com

noun

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

Origin of guile

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

Synonyms for guile

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trickery, fraud, craft.

Synonym study

See duplicity.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for guile

trickery, chicanery, deception, duplicity, sellout, artfulness, ruse, treachery, deceit, craft, trickiness, artifice, craftiness, dishonesty, cunning, jive, dissimulation, wiliness, double-cross, dissemblance

Examples from the Web for guile

Contemporary Examples of guile

But to say nothing of the innovative frame structure, what stands out here is the guile and agency of the female characters.
This Week’s Hot Reads: June 3, 2013
Nicholas Mancusi, Jimmy So
June 3, 2013
"If that is the case, hats off to him for guile and deviousness," says Yossi Verter in Haaretz.
Millions Of Israelis Missing Voting Cards
Matthew Kalman
January 21, 2013

Historical Examples of guile

There was no guile or evil in them, and because of it she wondered all the more that she could not face them.
The Monster Men
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Thus he says, truly, therefore we must meet guile with guile.
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood
Howard Pyle
He was being forced to play a deep game with her and was meeting guile with guile.
Ruggles of Red Gap
Harry Leon Wilson
There must be guile behind it, or he knew naught of the ways of men.
The Sea-Hawk
Raphael Sabatini
The cardinal's smile had changed from one of benignity to one of guile.
The Historical Nights Entertainment, Second Series
Rafael Sabatini

British Dictionary definitions for guile

guile

noun

clever or crafty character or behaviour

Derived Formsguileful, adjectiveguilefully, adverbguilefulness, noun

Word Origin for guile

C18: from Old French guile, of Germanic origin; see wile

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

Word Origin and History for guile

mid-12c., from Old French guile "deceit, wile, fraud, ruse, trickery," from Frankish *wigila "trick, ruse" or a related Germanic source (cf. Old Frisian wigila "sorcery, witchcraft," Old English wil "trick;" see wile).