sly

[slahy]

adjective, sly·er, sly·est.

cunning or wily: sly as a fox.
stealthy, insidious, or secret.
playfully artful, mischievous, or roguish: sly humor.

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

Related formssly·ly, adverbsly·ness, nounun·sly, adjective, un·sly·er, un·sly·est.un·sly·ly, adverbun·sly·ness, noun

Synonyms for sly

1. artful, subtle, foxy, crafty, shrewd, astute. 2. surreptitious, furtive, underhand, clandestine.

Antonyms for sly

1. direct, obvious.

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

Related Words for slyest

ingenious, intriguing, impish, shrewd, roguish, mischievous, canny, subtle, smart, arch, artful, astute, cagey, calculating, captious, covert, crafty, crooked, cunning, deceitful

Examples from the Web for slyest

Historical Examples of slyest

The coyote, or prairie-wolf, is the slyest animal that walks on four legs.
The Boy Settlers
Noah Brooks
It's the slyest trick the old fox has ever tried to play on us.
A Man of the People
Thomas Dixon
The mountain lion is one of the slyest and most elusive animals in the woods.
Your National Parks
Enos A. Mills
So they learned lots—and the slyest scoundrels learned the most.
It Is Never Too Late to Mend
Charles Reade
When buckled down to his work he became the slyest and cleverest of diplomats.
Parisians in the Country
Honore de Balzac

British Dictionary definitions for slyest

sly

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 slyest

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 slyest

sly

see on the sly.