Sly — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

marked by skill in deception

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/slˈaɪ/

🇬🇧British English

/slˈaɪ/

🇮🇳Indian English

/slˈaɪ/

1 syllable Say it as /slˈaɪ/.

Examples

cunning men often pass for wise
deep political machinations
a foxy scheme

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

cunning dodgy guileful foxy knavish tricky crafty tricksy slick wily

Parts of Speech

adjective

marked by skill in deception

“cunning men often pass for wise”

Word Forms

craft	noun	shrewdness as demonstrated by being skilled in deception
craftiness	noun	shrewdness as demonstrated by being skilled in deception
dodge	noun	an elaborate or deceitful scheme contrived to deceive or evade
fox	noun	a shifty deceptive person
foxiness	noun	shrewdness as demonstrated by being skilled in deception
slickness	noun	verbal misrepresentation intended to take advantage of you in some way
slyness	noun	shrewdness as demonstrated by being skilled in deception
trick	noun	a cunning or deceitful action or device
trickiness	noun	the quality of being a slippery rascal
wile	noun	the use of tricks to deceive someone (usually to extract money from them)
wiliness	noun	shrewdness as demonstrated by being skilled in deception

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

listig

gekennzeichnet durch Geschick in der Täuschung

🇫🇷French

sournois

marqué par l'habileté à tromper

🇪🇸Spanish

astuto

marcado por la habilidad en el engaño

🇮🇹Italian

furbo

segnato dall'abilità nell'inganno

🇳🇱Dutch

sluw

gekenmerkt door vaardigheid in misleiding

🇵🇹Portuguese

astuto

marcado pela habilidade em enganar

🇷🇺Russian

хитрый

отмечен умением обманывать

India

🇮🇳Hindi

धूर्त

धोखे में कौशल द्वारा चिह्नित

🇧🇩Bengali

ধূর্ত

প্রতারণা দক্ষতা দ্বারা চিহ্নিত

🇮🇳Tamil

தந்திரமான

ஏமாற்றுவதில் திறமையால் குறிக்கப்பட்டது

🇮🇳Telugu

చమత్కారమైన

వంచనలో నైపుణ్యంతో గుర్తించబడింది

🇮🇳Marathi

धूर्त

फसवणुकीत कौशल्याने चिन्हांकित

🇮🇳Gujarati

ચાલાક

છેતરપિંડી માં કુશળતા દ્વારા ચિહ્નિત

🇮🇳Kannada

ಕುತಂತ್ರ

ವಂಚನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕೌಶಲ್ಯದಿಂದ ಗುರುತಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆ

🇮🇳Malayalam

തന്ത്രശാലിയായ

വഞ്ചനയിൽ നൈപുണ്യത്താൽ അടയാളപ്പെടുത്തി

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਚਲਾਕ

ਧੋਖੇ ਵਿੱਚ ਹੁਨਰ ਦੁਆਰਾ ਚਿੰਨ੍ਹਿਤ

🇵🇰Urdu

چالاک

دھوکہ دہی میں مہارت سے نشان زد

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

狡猾

以欺骗技巧为标志

🇯🇵Japanese

ずるい

欺瞞の巧みさによって特徴づけられる

🇰🇷Korean

교활한

속임수의 기술로 특징 지어짐

🇻🇳Vietnamese

ranh mãnh

được đánh dấu bằng kỹ năng lừa dối

🇹🇭Thai

เจ้าเล่ห์

โดดเด่นด้วยทักษะในการหลอกลวง

🇮🇩Indonesian

licik

ditandai dengan kepiawaian dalam menipu

🇵🇭Filipino

palihim

minarkahan ng kasanayan sa panlilinlang

🇲🇾Malay

licik

ditandai dengan kemahiran dalam menipu

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

خبيث

تتميز بالمهارة في الخداع

🇮🇷Persian

حیله گر

با مهارت در فریب مشخص شده است

🇹🇷Turkish

kurnaz

aldatma becerisiyle işaretlenmiş

🇮🇱Hebrew

עַרמוּמִי

מסומן במיומנות בהונאה

Test Yourself1 / 3

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

The primary meaning of 'sly' is 'marked by skill in deception'.

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

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

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

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

Community Poll1 / 6

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

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'sly' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

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

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

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

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

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

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Never

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

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

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