cunning

Noun · Adjective
Synonyms: craftcraftinessfoxinessguileslynesswilinesscutecraftydodgyfoxyguilefulknavish

WordNet 3.0

Noun (2)

  1. shrewdness as demonstrated by being skilled in deceptionSynonyms: craftcraftinessfoxinessguileslynesswiliness
  2. crafty artfulness (especially in deception)

Adjective (3)

  1. attractive especially by means of smallness or prettiness or quaintness“a cute kid with pigtails”“a cute little apartment”“cunning kittens”“a cunning baby”Synonyms: cute
  2. marked by skill in deception“cunning men often pass for wise”“deep political machinations”“a foxy scheme”“a slick evasive answer”“sly as a fox”“tricky Dick”“a wily old attorney”Synonyms: craftydodgyfoxyguilefulknavishslickslytricksytrickywily
  3. showing inventiveness and skill“a clever gadget”“the cunning maneuvers leading to his success”“an ingenious solution to the problem”Synonyms: cleveringenious
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Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

Cunning \Cun"ning\ (k[u^]n"n[i^]ng), a. [AS. cunnan to know, to be able. See 1st Con, Can.]

1.Knowing; skillful; dexterous. "A cunning workman." -- Ex. xxxviii. 23. [1913 Webster]

"Tis beauty truly blent, whose red and white Nature's own sweet and cunning hand laid on.— Shak.[1913 Webster]
Esau was a cunning hunter.— Gen xxv. 27.[1913 Webster]

2.Wrought with, or exhibiting, skill or ingenuity; ingenious; curious; as, cunning work. [1913 Webster]

Over them Arachne high did lift
Her cunning web.— Spenser.[1913 Webster]

3.Crafty; sly; artful; designing; deceitful. [1913 Webster]

They are resolved to be cunning; let others run the hazard of being sincere.— South.[1913 Webster]

4.Pretty or pleasing; as, a cunning little boy. [Colloq. U.S.] --Barlett.

Syn: Cunning, Artful, Sly, Wily, Crafty.

Usage: These epithets agree in expressing an aptitude for attaining some end by peculiar and secret means. Cunning is usually low; as, a cunning trick. Artful is more ingenious and inventive; as, an artful device. Sly implies a turn for what is double or concealed; as, sly humor; a sly evasion. Crafty denotes a talent for dexterously deceiving; as, a crafty manager. Wily describes a talent for the use of stratagems; as, a wily politician. A cunning man often shows his dexterity in simply concealing. An artful man goes further, and exerts his ingenuity in misleading. A crafty man mingles cunning with art, and so shapes his actions as to lull suspicions. The young may be cunning, but the experienced only can be crafty. Slyness is a vulgar kind of cunning; the sly man goes cautiously and silently to work. Wiliness is a species of cunning or craft applicable only to cases of attack and defense." --Crabb. [1913 Webster]

Cunning \Cun"ning\, n. [AS. cunnung trial, or Icel. kunnandi knowledge. See Cunning, a.]

1.Knowledge; art; skill; dexterity. [Archaic] [1913 Webster]

Let my right hand forget her cunning.— Ps. cxxxvii. 5.[1913 Webster]
A carpenter's desert Stands more in cunning than in power.— Chapman.[1913 Webster]

2.The faculty or act of using stratagem to accomplish a purpose; fraudulent skill or dexterity; deceit; craft. [1913 Webster]

Discourage cunning in a child; cunning is the ape of wisdom.— Locke.[1913 Webster]
We take cunning for a sinister or crooked wisdom.— Bacon.[1913 Webster]

The Devil's Dictionary

CUNNING, n. The faculty that distinguishes a weak animal or person from a strong one. It brings its possessor much mental satisfaction and great material adversity. An Italian proverb says: "The furrier gets the skins of more foxes than asses."
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