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.

The hosts lacked the guile to unlock a stubborn defence once again in the second half - just a week after failing to find the back of the net against bottom of the table Wolves.

From BBC • Jan. 25, 2026

Like Julien Duvivier and François Truffaut before him, Kiarostami captures their innocence and guile with righteous force.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 27, 2025

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

From Barron's • Nov. 26, 2025

In Year 18, Kershaw has found success “just on guile and heart,” as manager Dave Roberts described it.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 18, 2025

He saw a simple, sincere face that was incapable of subtlety or guile, an honest, frank face with disunited large eyes, rusty hair, black eyebrows and an unfortunate reddish- brown mustache.

From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller

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