sly

[ slahy ]

/ slaɪ /

|||

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR sly ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, sly·er, sly·est.

cunning or wily: sly as a fox.

stealthy, insidious, or secret.

playfully artful, mischievous, or roguish: sly humor.

Nearby words

slut, slut-shame, slutch, sluter, slutty, sly, sly grog, sly-grog, slyboots, slyly, slype

Idioms

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

1 artful, subtle, foxy, crafty, shrewd, astute.

2 surreptitious, furtive, underhand, clandestine.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR sly ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR sly

1 direct, obvious.

SEE MORE ANTONYMS FOR sly ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

sly·ly, adverbsly·ness, nounun·sly, adjective, un·sly·er, un·sly·est.un·sly·ly, adverb

un·sly·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for sly

Rambo movie marathon—11 am-12 am, AMCBecause nothing says the holidays like Sly Stallone and blood.
The Ultimate Thanksgiving Weekend TV Guide: Must-See Marathons, Specials, and Parades|Kevin Fallon|November 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Her songs draw on Stevie Wonder, the Jackson 5, Sly Stone, Curtis Mayfield, and contemporary hip-hop.
In the Backseat With Janelle Monae: A Limo Ride with the Stylish R&B Diva|Douglas Wolk|April 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Are its users loud and proud harbingers of the sex-tech revolution, or just people who want to get a bit freaky on the sly?
Hook Up Apps Have Gone Too Far|Charlotte Lytton|March 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In fact, some of us would like to think that Fallon meant it as a sly dig and knew exactly what he was asking.
Can Jimmy Fallon Be Himself on ‘The Tonight Show’?|Tom Shales|February 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Her sly, skewering banter and provocative cynicism were her defense in a male-dominated profession and also her selling point.
Tallulah Bankhead: Gay, Drunk and Liberated in an Era of Excess Art|Judith Mackrell|January 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
No, no, my sly cub; you don't bamboozle an old bear so easily as all that.
The Red Moccasins|Morrison Heady
His Sir Pertinax was excellent in its sly and deadly suppleness.
Haunted London|Walter Thornbury
I kinder larfed in my sleeve to hear the sly coot try to come round, and find out who I was and all about me.
Highlife in New York: a series of letters to Mr. Zephariah Slick,|Ann S. Stephens
There is less stealing, the goods being more in common, only sometimes a sly rifling of pockets by the unpaid wife.
The home|Charlotte Perkins Gilman
His dereliction, if any, might consist in sly tapping of the wine-cellar.
Whispering Wires|Henry Leverage

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

slyly or slily, adverbslyness, noun

Word 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.

sly