Synonyms Examples Word Origin
See more synonyms for wile on Thesaurus.com a trick, artifice, or stratagem meant to fool, trap, or entice; device. wiles, artful or beguiling behavior. deceitful cunning; trickery. Show More
verb (used with object), wiled, wil·ing. to beguile, entice, or lure (usually followed by away, from, into, etc.): The music wiled him from his study. Show More
wile away , to spend or pass (time), especially in a leisurely or pleasurable fashion: to wile away the long winter nights. Show More
Origin of wile 1125–75; (noun) Middle English; late Old English wil, perhaps < Old Norse vēl artifice, earlier *wihl-
Related forms out·wile , verb (used with object), out·wiled, out·wil·ing. Can be confused while wile Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words for wile stratagem ,
guile ,
artfulness ,
scam ,
twist ,
device ,
artifice ,
racket ,
gimmick ,
fraud ,
plot ,
cheating ,
deception ,
trickery ,
dishonesty ,
ploy ,
dodge ,
maneuver ,
lure ,
slant Examples from the Web for wile Contemporary Examples of wile Wile E. Coyote is running after the Road Runner and eventually finds he has run off a cliff.
To accomplish this goal, Netanyahu used a simple chart that looked like a Wile E. Coyote bomb.
Like Wile E. Coyote, they will keep running until everyone else recognizes that there is no ground beneath their feet.
Historical Examples of wile Now, by some pretext, by some wile , he must live to see her once more.
Without a double of any kind,—a creature that does not know a wile or a stratagem!
But I had rather she had more earthliness and wile than be the pawn of Venice.
When every other wile had been tried in vain, he got Archie to propose a game with forfeits.
She would be possessed of every art and wile of the women of her trade.
British Dictionary definitions for wile trickery, cunning, or craftiness (usually plural) an artful or seductive trick or ploy Show More
(tr) to lure, beguile, or entice Show More
Word Origin for wile C12: from Old Norse vel craft; probably related to Old French wīle, Old English wīgle magic. See guile
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for wile n. mid-12c., wil "wile, trick," perhaps from Old North French *wile (Old French guile ), or directly from a Scandinavian source (cf. Old Norse vel "trick, craft, fraud," vela "defraud"). Perhaps ultimately related to Old English wicca "wizard" (see Wicca ). Lighter sense of "amorous or playful trick" is from c.1600. Wily is attested from c.1300.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
