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cunning
[ kuhn-ing ]
noun
- skill employed in a shrewd or sly manner, as in deceiving; craftiness; guile.
- adeptness in performance; dexterity:
The weaver's hand had not lost its cunning.
Synonyms: agility, adroitness
adjective
verb
- Obsolete. present participle of can 1.
cunning
/ ˈkʌnɪŋ /
adjective
- crafty and shrewd, esp in deception; sly
cunning as a fox
- made with or showing skill or cleverness; ingenious
noun
- craftiness, esp in deceiving; slyness
- cleverness, skill, or ingenuity
Derived Forms
- ˈcunningness, noun
- ˈcunningly, adverb
Other Words From
- cun·ning·ly adverb
- cun·ning·ness noun
- o·ver·cun·ning adjective
- o·ver·cun·ning·ness noun
- qua·si-cun·ning adjective
Word History and Origins
Word History and Origins
Origin of cunning1
Synonym Study
Example Sentences
Philosopher Nick Bostrom conjectures that such an agent might devote all of its superhuman productivity and cunning to “reducing the risk of future disruption” of its precious reward source.
To demonstrate what he calls Jenkins’s cunning nature, Stepp provided a four-page, handwritten letter Jenkins sent him in April 2017, less than two months after the officer had been arrested.
Graham shared that a cunning avian thief once swiped his car keys, which he later discovered dangling from a dock halfway around the island.
The documentary focuses on the ways cunning lawyers have taken advantage of seniors and other vulnerable people.
It demands the legs of a sprinter, the lungs of a marathoner, and the tactical cunning of a chess grandmaster.
However, the apple had been made with such cunning that only the red part was poisoned.
“Ben, who was as cunning and seductive as Diane, really wooed Diane,” says an insider.
Of course, there is the catch that Nancy has always been a bit more cunning and self-centered (though not self-aware) than Piper.
Entertaining used to require intelligence or a measure of wit or, at least, peasant cunning.
Cersei is cunning, focused, and power-hungry—not unlike her father and brothers.
But this time, with all his cunning and perspiration, he could not induce another throb in the tired engines.
Aunty Rosa had credited him in the past with petty cunning and stratagem that had never entered into his head.
In a dream he crossed the crowded hall, avoiding various acquaintances with unconscious cunning.
Whether this aptitude was combined with the sinuous cunning that is essentially Oriental Nigel did not know.
Of these Napoleon was well advised, but Bernadotte was too cunning to allow himself to be compromised absolutely.
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