Devious — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

indirect in departing from the accepted or proper way; misleading

characterized by insincerity or deceit; evasive

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/dɹˈʌŋkən/

🇬🇧British English

/dˈiːviəs/

🇮🇳Indian English

/dˈiːviəs/

2 syllables Say it as /dɹˈʌŋkən/.

Examples

used devious means to achieve success
gave oblique answers to direct questions
oblique political maneuvers

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

oblique circuitous shifty roundabout

Parts of Speech

adjective	indirect in departing from the accepted or proper way; misleading “used devious means to achieve success”
adjective	characterized by insincerity or deceit; evasive “a devious character”
adjective	deviating from a straight course “a scenic but devious route”

Word Forms

deviousness	noun	the quality of being deceitful and underhanded
obliquity	noun	the quality of being deceptive
obliqueness	noun	the quality of being oblique and rambling indirectly
shiftiness	noun	the quality of being a slippery rascal

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

hinterhältig

indirekt durch Abweichen vom akzeptierten oder richtigen Weg; irreführend

🇫🇷French

sournois

indirect en s'écartant de la voie acceptée ou appropriée ; trompeur

🇪🇸Spanish

tortuoso

indirecto al apartarse de la forma aceptada o adecuada; engañoso

🇮🇹Italian

subdolo

indiretto nel discostarsi dal modo accettato o corretto; fuorviante

🇳🇱Dutch

sluw

indirect door af te wijken van de geaccepteerde of juiste manier; misleidend

🇵🇹Portuguese

tortuoso

indireto ao se afastar do caminho aceito ou adequado; errôneo

🇷🇺Russian

коварный

косвенный, отклоняющийся от принятого или правильного пути; вводящий в заблуждение

India

🇮🇳Hindi

चालाक

स्वीकृत या उचित मार्ग से हटने में अप्रत्यक्ष; गुमराह करने वाले

🇧🇩Bengali

বিপথগামী

গৃহীত বা যথাযথ উপায় থেকে প্রস্থান করার পরোক্ষ; বিভ্রান্তিকর

🇮🇳Tamil

வஞ்சகமான

ஏற்றுக்கொள்ளப்பட்ட அல்லது சரியான வழியிலிருந்து விலகிச் செல்வதில் மறைமுகமாக; தவறாக வழிநடத்தும்

🇮🇳Telugu

మోసపూరితమైన

ఆమోదించబడిన లేదా సరైన మార్గం నుండి బయలుదేరడంలో పరోక్షంగా; తప్పుదారి పట్టించేది

🇮🇳Marathi

वळवळ

अप्रत्यक्षपणे स्वीकारलेल्या किंवा योग्य मार्गापासून दूर जाणे; दिशाभूल करणारा

🇮🇳Gujarati

કપટી

સ્વીકૃત અથવા યોગ્ય રીતે પ્રસ્થાન માં પરોક્ષ; ભ્રામક

🇮🇳Kannada

ವಂಚಕ

ಸ್ವೀಕೃತ ಅಥವಾ ಸರಿಯಾದ ಮಾರ್ಗದಿಂದ ನಿರ್ಗಮಿಸುವಲ್ಲಿ ಪರೋಕ್ಷ; ದಾರಿತಪ್ಪಿಸುವ

🇮🇳Malayalam

വക്രമായ

സ്വീകാര്യമായ അല്ലെങ്കിൽ ശരിയായ വഴിയിൽ നിന്ന് അകന്നുപോകുന്നതിൽ പരോക്ഷമായി; തെറ്റിദ്ധരിപ്പിക്കുന്നത്

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਚਾਲਬਾਜ਼

ਅਸਿੱਧੇ ਤੌਰ 'ਤੇ ਸਵੀਕਾਰ ਕੀਤੇ ਜਾਂ ਸਹੀ ਤਰੀਕੇ ਨਾਲ ਛੱਡਣ ਲਈ; ਗੁੰਮਰਾਹਕੁੰਨ

🇵🇰Urdu

مکار

قبول شدہ یا مناسب طریقے سے بالواسطہ طور پر گمراہ کن

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

狡猾的

间接偏离公认或正确的方式；误导性的

🇯🇵Japanese

邪悪な

一般に受け入れられている、または適切な方法から逸脱する間接的なもの。誤解を招く

🇰🇷Korean

멀리 돌아가는

간접적으로 받아들여지거나 적절한 방식에서 벗어나는 것; 오해의 소지가 있는

🇻🇳Vietnamese

quanh co

gián tiếp đi chệch khỏi con đường đã được chấp nhận hoặc đúng đắn; gây hiểu lầm

🇹🇭Thai

คดเคี้ยว

ทางอ้อมในการเบี่ยงเบนไปจากทางที่เป็นที่ยอมรับหรือเหมาะสม ทำให้เข้าใจผิด

🇮🇩Indonesian

licik

tidak langsung dalam menyimpang dari cara yang diterima atau benar; menyesatkan

🇵🇭Filipino

palihis

hindi direkta sa pag-alis mula sa tinatanggap o tamang paraan; nakaliligaw

🇲🇾Malay

licik

tidak langsung dalam menyimpang daripada cara yang diterima atau sepatutnya; mengelirukan

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

مخادع

وغير المباشرة في الخروج عن الطريقة المقبولة أو الصحيحة؛ مضللة

🇮🇷Persian

فریبنده

غیر مستقیم در خروج از راه پذیرفته شده یا مناسب. گمراه کننده

🇹🇷Turkish

sinsi

kabul edilen veya doğru yoldan sapmada dolaylı; yanıltıcı

🇮🇱Hebrew

עַרמוּמִי

עקיף ביציאה מהדרך המקובלת או הראויה; מַטעֶה

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'devious'?

The primary meaning of 'devious' is 'indirect in departing from the accepted or proper way; misleading'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'devious' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'devious' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'devious' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'devious' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'devious' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'devious' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'devious' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'devious' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'devious' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'devious' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted