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

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 Formsslyly 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

Word Origin and History for sly

sly

adj.

c.1200, "skillful, clever, dexterous," from Old Norse sloegr "cunning, crafty, sly," from Proto-Germanic *slogis (cf. Low German slu "cunning, sly," German schlau), probably from base *slak- "to strike, hit" (see slay (v.)), with an original notion of "able to hit." Cf. German verschlagen "cunning, crafty, sly," schlagfertig "quick-witted," literally "strike-ready," from schlagen "to strike." A non-pejorative use of the word lingered in northern English dialect until 20c. On the sly "in secret" is recorded from 1812. Sly-boots "a seeming Silly, but subtil Fellow" is in the 1700 "Dictionary of the Canting Crew."

Idioms and Phrases with sly

sly

see on the sly.

sly