cunningly
Americanadverb
-
in a way that shows ingenuity or shrewdness.
The game introduces basic principles of coding and develops problem-solving prowess while cunningly disguised as just another game.
-
Informal. in a way that is charmingly cute or appealing.
The cunningly named FarmHouse Hotel reflects the quaint beauty of the English countryside.
Other Word Forms
- overcunningly adverb
- quasi-cunningly adverb
Etymology
Origin of cunningly
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.
Passing sentence Judge Geoffery Baker QC described Saeed as a "charlatan", who had carried out a deception that had been "cunningly contrived, skilfully executed, and brazenly maintained over three decades".
From BBC • Feb. 23, 2025
There’s much to appreciate about a show that cunningly strives not only to be deemed good but to make us redefine what that means.
From Salon • Jun. 4, 2024
This disputatious sociopolitical drama is cunningly packaged as a romantic comedy.
From Los Angeles Times • May 23, 2024
This system cunningly increases the proportion of offspring with Wolbachia and the virus in the next generation, because females with the bacteria successfully reproduce more frequently than females without.
From Science Daily • Mar. 7, 2024
“With whose name?” asked the second C.I.D. man cunningly.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
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.
