sly
[ slahy ]
/ slaɪ /
adjective, comparative sly·er or sli·er [slahy-er], /ˈslaɪ ər/, superlative sly·est or sli·est [slahy-ist]. /ˈslaɪ ɪst/.
cunning or wily: sly as a fox.
stealthy, insidious, or secret.
playfully artful, mischievous, or roguish: sly humor.
QUIZZES
BECOME A PRO CHEF WITH THIS EXQUISITE CUISINE QUIZ!
Even if you can't be a professional chef, you can at least talk like one with this vocabulary quiz.
Question 1 of 9
You may have read the word "simmer" in a recipe or two, but what does it really mean?
Idioms for sly
on the sly, secretly; furtively: a tryst on the sly.
Origin of sly
1150–1200; Middle English sly, sley, from Old Norse slœgr “sly, cunning” (originally “able to strike, able to slay”); see slay
SYNONYMS FOR sly
OTHER WORDS FROM sly
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Example sentences from the Web for sly
British Dictionary definitions for sly
sly
/ (slaɪ) /
adjective slyer, slyest, slier or sliest
crafty; artfula sly dodge
insidious; furtivea sly manner
playfully mischievous; roguishsly humour
noun
on the sly in a secretive manner
Derived forms of sly
slyly or slily, adverbslyness, nounWord Origin for sly
C12: from Old Norse slǣgr clever, literally: able to strike, from slā to slay
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
Idioms and Phrases with sly
sly
see on the sly.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.