cunning
[adjective]
Synonyms:
- crafty, artful, devious, Machiavellian, sharp, shifty, sly, wily
- skilful, imaginative, ingenious
[noun]
Synonyms:
- craftiness, artfulness, deviousness, guile, slyness, trickery
- skill, artifice, cleverness, ingenuity, subtlety

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Contrasted words: artless, naive, unsophisticated
Related Idioms: too clever by half, not to be caught with chaff, satanic cunning, the cunning of the serpent
Related Words: well-devised, well-laid, well-planned, crackerjack, masterful, acute, keen, sharp, knowing, smart, wary, deftness, dexterousness, adeptness, expertness, cleverness, ingeniousness, ingenuity, savvy, sharpness, shrewdness, agility, facility, finesse, slickness, subtlety, insidiousness, shiftiness, trickiness

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. cun‧ning¹ /ˈkʌnɪŋ/ adjective
[Date: 1200-1300; Origin: Present participle of cun 'to know', an early form of can; ⇒ can¹]

1. someone who is cunning is clever and good at deceiving people in order to get what they want Synonym : crafty:
a cunning opponent

2. behaviour or actions that are cunning are clever but dishonest and unfair, and are used to get what you want:
a cunning plan

3. a cunning object or piece of equipment is clever and unusual:
a cunning little device for keeping out draughts

4. American English old-fashioned attractive:
a cunning little dress
—cunningly adverb

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. cunning² noun [uncountable]
the ability to achieve what you want by deceiving people in a clever way:
the tiger’s ferocity and cunning
She would use low cunning (=unpleasant dishonest methods) to win people’s sympathy.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

cunning
noun
ADJ. great | devious, low | animal | native She relied on her native cunning to survive.
VERB + CUNNING have She had great cunning and ruthlessness.
show | use He had used cunning to get what he wanted.
PREP. with ~ She managed him with great cunning.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲