deviousde‧vi‧ous /ˈdiːviəs/ ●○○ adjective 
Word Origin
a devious politician► see thesaurus at dishonest2formal not going in the most direct way to get to a place SYN circuitous: a devious route—deviously adverb—deviousness noun [uncountable]
Word OriginWORD ORIGINdevious
ExamplesOrigin:
1500-1600 Latin devius, from via ‘way’EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
Thesaurus- In the film, he plays a devious defence lawyer named Richard Adler.
- Their method of collecting money was devious, but not illegal.
- You have to be pretty devious to be successful in that sort of business.
- He infuriated his allies with his arbitrary decisions and devious ways.
- He might be devious, but he was not without principles.
- He was raucous, sentimental, hot. tempered, practical, simple, devious, big, and powerful.
- His relationship with the universe becomes more subtle and devious.
- Opportunism is a devious kind of self-interested behaviour.
- Or was it as devious as that?
- She says we have devious minds!
THESAURUS► dishonest
Collocations behaving in a way that is intended to deceive people, for example by lying, cheating, or stealing: · Are you accusing me of being dishonest?· The money was acquired through dishonest means.· People are no longer surprised to find that politicians are dishonest.
► corrupt using your power in a dishonest way for your own advantage – used about people in official positions: · corrupt politicians· Law and order has broken down, and most government officials are corrupt.
► devious good at secretly thinking of clever plans to trick people in order to get what you want: · You have a very devious mind!· They use all kinds of devious methods to find out your personal details.
► underhand British English, underhanded American English underhand methods involve secretly deceiving people in order to get what you want: · In a series of underhand moves, Browne managed to gain control of the company.
► sneaky doing or saying things secretly, in a way that seems wrong because it is slightly dishonest or unfair: · It was pretty sneaky when the bank charged me interest on my account without telling me.
► sly deliberately behaving in a way that hides what you are really thinking or doing, in a way that is slightly dishonest: · Lucy decided not to tell him where she was going. She was often a bit sly like that.· He’s a sly old fox.
► unscrupulous using dishonest and unfair methods to get what you want, without caring if you harm other people: · Some unscrupulous companies try to persuade people to borrow huge sums of money.
► fraudulent formal deliberately deceiving people in an illegal way in order to gain money or power: · You will be prosecuted if you make a fraudulent claim on your insurance policy.
Longman Language Activatorsecretly dishonest► devious someone who is devious tries to get what they want by secretly using clever plans to trick people, so you can never be sure what their real intentions are: · You have to be pretty devious to be successful in that sort of business.· In the film, he plays a devious defence lawyer named Richard Adler.
► sneaky someone who is sneaky does things secretly and tricks people in order to get what they want: · You never know what's going on in that sneaky mind of his.· Watch out for Andy. He can be really sneaky.
► sly someone who is sly deliberately and cleverly hides their real intentions and feelings in order to get what they want, without other people realizing what they are doing: · Children of that age can be very sly.sly smile/look/expression etc: · A sly look crossed his face when Patsy mentioned the money.
► underhand British /underhanded American underhand methods or ways of doing things involve secretly deceiving people in an unfair way in order to get what you want without them knowing your intentions: · In a series of very smart, underhand moves, Browne gradually gained control of the company.· A federal judge criticized U.S. immigration officials for "underhanded tactics'' to deny asylum to Haitians.· She accused the council of behaving in an "underhand" manner and said residents should have been consulted.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB► more
1using dishonest tricks and deceiving people in order to get what you want → deceitful: · A more devious theory is that the whole red-mercury affair is simply a fantasy dreamt up to make Mr Rutskoi look foolish.· However, the tactics have become more devious.· Our enemies are different now; subtler, more devious than ever before.· In other religions, however, the forces of order are more devious and underhand.· Her previous stumbling attempts had taught her to be more subtle, more devious in her approach.
a devious politician► see thesaurus at dishonest2formal not going in the most direct way to get to a place SYN circuitous: a devious route—deviously adverb—deviousness noun [uncountable]