adjective
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skilled in deception; shrewd; cunning
-
archaic skilful
Other Word Forms
- craftily adverb
- craftiness noun
- quasi-craftily adverb
- quasi-crafty adjective
- uncraftily adverb
- uncraftiness noun
- uncrafty adjective
Etymology
Origin of crafty
before 900; Middle English; Old English cræftig skilled. See craft, -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.
A crafty reply occurred to me: “In the Frisian clock on the stairwell!”
From Literature
Some crafty artifice and a heap of negative space aren’t enough to fill the void left by a complete lack of narrative sense.
From Salon
Maple, in a glass bottle, collected, boiled, and shipped from one of her crafty friends in Maine or Massachusetts.
From Literature
This is the perfect time to give it to a crafty friend or neighbor.
From MarketWatch
Mice are crafty—they jump in one hole and scurry out another.
From Literature
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.
