1
: deceitful cunning : duplicity
a war that called for guile rather than firepower
2
obsolete : stratagem, trick
guileful adjective
guilefully adverb
guilefulness noun

Examples of guile in a Sentence

By the end of Liebling's dispatch, Mollie has become a mythic figure invulnerable to death, capable of great feats of courage and guile, and able to transform himself into any human type for the purposes of disguise. Lee Siegel, Harper's, December 2004
The going was painfully slow, but Chickenhound consoled himself on the long journey by boosting his own ego. "Maybe a silly bunch of rats could put one over on Sela. Huh, she was old and had lost a lot of her guile. Not like me! They hadn't reckoned with a smart intelligent young fox like I am." Brian Jacques, Redwall, (1986) 2002
Untrained human nature was not frank and innocent; it was full of the twists and defences of an instinctive guile. Edith Wharton, The Age of Innocence, 1920
a shady salesman who usually relies on a combination of quick thinking and guile a person so full of guile he can't even be trusted to give you the correct time of day
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
But those dying or returning home as amputees are often from a younger generation who value dexterity and guile perhaps more than brute persistence. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, 8 Aug. 2024 Getting out doesn’t just require thumb-shredding dexterity, wit, and guile, but also — fittingly for its premise — patience. Lewis Gordon, Vulture, 5 June 2024 What Hemings secured for herself through Jefferson, with an unknowable titration of guile and disgust and affection, Luce secures similarly through Mike. Jesse Green, New York Times, 17 Apr. 2024 Avery had rolled out his deadly plans with all the guile and strategic know-how that his navy training had taught him. Sean Kingsley, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Apr. 2024 See all Example Sentences for guile 

Word History

Etymology

Middle English gile, from Anglo-French, probably of Germanic origin; akin to Old English wigle divination — more at witch

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of guile was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near guile

Cite this Entry

“Guile.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/guile. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

guile

noun
: sly trickery : duplicity
guileful adjective

More from Merriam-Webster on guile

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!