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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

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.