tricksy

American  

[trik-see] / ˈtrɪk si /

adjective

tricksier, tricksiest

1. Also given to tricks; mischievous; playful; prankish.

2. difficult to handle or deal with.

3. Archaic. tricky; crafty; wily.

4. Archaic. fashionably trim; spruce; smart.

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tricksy British  

/ ˈtrɪksɪ /

adjective

1. playing tricks habitually; mischievous

2. crafty or difficult to deal with

3. archaic well-dressed; spruce; smart

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Other Word Forms

• tricksiness
  noun
• tricksily
  adverb

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Etymology

Origin of tricksy

1545–55; trick + -s ³ + -y ¹; cf. -sy

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tricksy tricksiest

She invites readers to take part in a tricksy, recursive narrative game—and, as a character reminds us, “games are meant to be fun.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026

It’s right there in the script of Francis Beaumont’s “The Knight of the Burning Pestle,” a tricksy, loopy, wildly self-referential 1607 play that parodies both city comedy and chivalric romance.

From New York Times ● Apr. 27, 2023

Psychological coherence takes a back seat to tricksy plotting.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2022

“Easy Feedback Form” even appeared in the credits of 2021’s hit collectible card game Inscryption — a means for developer Daniel Mullins to fine-tune the tricksy, playfully meta title.

From The Verge ● Jun. 29, 2022

But it’s in Paradise Lost that he’s to be found in properly blistering form—first as the defeated general rallying his troops in hell, and later as the tricksy serpent in the Garden of Eden.

From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith

That book, comprising a long poem by John Shade and a massive set of end notes by Professor Charles Kinbote, is perhaps the trickiest, or tricksiest, work of modern literature.

From Washington Post ● May 27, 2015

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