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wile

[ wahyl ]
/ waɪl /
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See synonyms for: wile / wiled / wiles / wiling on Thesaurus.com

noun
a trick, artifice, or stratagem meant to fool, trap, or entice; device.
wiles, artful or beguiling behavior.
deceitful cunning; trickery.
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.
Verb Phrases
wile away, to spend or pass (time), especially in a leisurely or pleasurable fashion: to wile away the long winter nights.
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Origin of wile

1125–75; (noun) Middle English; late Old English wil, perhaps <Old Norse vēl artifice, earlier *wihl-

synonym study for wile

1, 2. See trick.

OTHER WORDS FROM wile

outwile, verb (used with object), out·wiled, out·wil·ing.

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH wile

while, wile
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use wile in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for wile

wile
/ (waɪl) /

noun
trickery, cunning, or craftiness
(usually plural) an artful or seductive trick or ploy
verb
(tr) to lure, beguile, or entice

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 Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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