wilier; wiliest
: full of wiles : crafty
a wily negotiator
wilily adverb
wiliness noun
Choose the Right Synonym for wily

sly, cunning, crafty, wily, tricky, foxy, artful, slick mean attaining or seeking to attain one's ends by guileful or devious means.

sly implies furtiveness, lack of candor, and skill in concealing one's aims and methods.

a sly corporate raider

cunning suggests the inventive use of sometimes limited intelligence in overreaching or circumventing.

the cunning fox avoided the trap

crafty implies cleverness and subtlety of method.

a crafty lefthander

wily implies skill and deception in maneuvering.

the wily fugitive escaped the posse

tricky is more likely to suggest shiftiness and unreliability than skill in deception and maneuvering.

a tricky political operative

foxy implies a shrewd and wary craftiness usually involving devious dealing.

a foxy publicity man planting stories

artful implies indirectness in dealing and often connotes sophistication or cleverness.

elicited the information by artful questioning

slick emphasizes smoothness and guile.

slick operators selling time-sharing

Examples of wily in a Sentence

She turned out to be a wily negotiator. a wily judge of character, she takes advantage of car buyers' insecurities to sell them a bigger machine than they really need
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.
The Democratic ticket is framing Trump as a chaotic leader easily taken advantage of by more wily foreign adversaries. David Brennan, ABC News, 3 Nov. 2024 From 1986 to 1995, Andy Griffith enjoyed one of television’s most impressive second acts, playing a wily southern lawyer named Ben Matlock. Noel Murray, Vulture, 15 Oct. 2024 Her Mel can be attentive and sympathetic one minute, yet very defensive and wily the next. Diedre Johnson, TVLine, 9 Sep. 2024 Herpes viruses are wily and can stow away quietly in the roots of nerves. Brenda Goodman, CNN, 30 July 2024 See all Example Sentences for wily 

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of wily was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near wily

Cite this Entry

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

Kids Definition

wily

adjective
wilier; wiliest
: full of deceit : tricky
a wily opponent
wiliness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on wily

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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