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Synonyms

wily

American  
[wahy-lee] / ˈwaɪ li /

adjective

wilier, wiliest

  1. full of, marked by, or proceeding from wiles; crafty; cunning.

    Synonyms:
    treacherous, deceitful, foxy, tricky, designing, sly, artful
    Antonyms:
    open, straightforward
wily British  
/ ˈwaɪlɪ /

adjective

  1. characterized by or proceeding from wiles; sly or crafty

"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

Other Word Forms

  • overwily adjective
  • unwily adjective
  • wilily adverb
  • wiliness noun

Etymology

Origin of wily

Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; wile, -y 1

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

It makes for a wily and endearing tale, and in Adrian Nathan West’s excellent translation, the writing is remarkably untroubled by the stylistic sclerosis that can afflict writers with Vargas Llosa’s prestige.

From The Wall Street Journal

In Iran, the president faces some of his wiliest and most implacable opponents.

From The Wall Street Journal

John Rudge was at Stoke with me, as our director of sport, and was a wily old fox.

From BBC

His genial demeanour and penchant for folksy parables belie a past as a wily guerrilla fighter and ruthless political survivor.

From Barron's

Though that song is certainly the more accessible of the two new singles, “Sexistential” is the more fascinating, wily one.

From Salon

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.