canny
1 of 2adjective
can·ny ˈka-nē 
cannier; canniest
1
: clever, shrewd
a canny lawyer
also : prudent
canny investments
2
chiefly Scotland
a
: careful, steady
also : restrained
b
: quiet, snug
then canny, in some cozy place, they close the day
Robert Burns
Robert Burns cannily
ˈka-nə-lē
adverb canniness
ˈka-nē-nəs
noun canny
2 of 2adverb
Scotland
: in a canny manner : carefully
Synonyms
Adjective
- astute
- clear-eyed
- clear-sighted
- hard-boiled
- hardheaded
- heady
- knowing
- savvy
- sharp
- sharp-witted
- shrewd
- smart
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Adjective a canny card player, good at psyching out his opponents warm and canny under the woolen bedcovers, we didn't mind the chilly Scottish nights
Recent Examples on the Web Ezra Dyer, Car and Driver, 6 Sep. 2022 Emma Watts proved to be an early contender while in recent months, names such as Amy Pascal, Matt Tolmach, Sean Bailey, and Greg Berlanti were rumored to be meeting or pushed by canny agency heads. Borys Kit, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Aug. 2022 Alive to the power of P.R. and canny about its messaging, the group is unnervingly well positioned to exploit the overlap between labor and corporate interests. Britta Lokting, The New Republic, 23 Aug. 2022 And what appears at first like a canny creative choice by Fields and Weisberg becomes an element holding the series itself hostage. Daniel D'addario, Variety, 22 Aug. 2022 My heart is filled with phrases that dazed in their day, words in canny order, solving clouds and mazes of blundering expression. Rex Wilder, National Review, 11 Aug. 2022 Eve Babitz was one of the truly original writers of 20th-century Los Angeles: essayist, memoirist, novelist, groupie, feminist, canny ingenue. Kevin Dettmar, The Atlantic, 10 Aug. 2022 Staving off canny staging and slick curation, BeReal gives users just two minutes following a prompt to submit a dual front-camera/back-camera image. Wired, 7 Aug. 2022 Gone is Detective Rough, the canny inspector who sets everything straight and explains it all to poor, poor Bella. New York Times, 20 July 2022 See More
Adjective
Likely not, and VW is arguably making a canny bet that our market wants not another minivan benchmarked to the strengths of the existing crop but a machine that goes in a completely different direction. Ezra Dyer, Car and Driver, 6 Sep. 2022 Emma Watts proved to be an early contender while in recent months, names such as Amy Pascal, Matt Tolmach, Sean Bailey, and Greg Berlanti were rumored to be meeting or pushed by canny agency heads. Borys Kit, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Aug. 2022 Alive to the power of P.R. and canny about its messaging, the group is unnervingly well positioned to exploit the overlap between labor and corporate interests. Britta Lokting, The New Republic, 23 Aug. 2022 And what appears at first like a canny creative choice by Fields and Weisberg becomes an element holding the series itself hostage. Daniel D'addario, Variety, 22 Aug. 2022 My heart is filled with phrases that dazed in their day, words in canny order, solving clouds and mazes of blundering expression. Rex Wilder, National Review, 11 Aug. 2022 Eve Babitz was one of the truly original writers of 20th-century Los Angeles: essayist, memoirist, novelist, groupie, feminist, canny ingenue. Kevin Dettmar, The Atlantic, 10 Aug. 2022 Staving off canny staging and slick curation, BeReal gives users just two minutes following a prompt to submit a dual front-camera/back-camera image. Wired, 7 Aug. 2022 Gone is Detective Rough, the canny inspector who sets everything straight and explains it all to poor, poor Bella. New York Times, 20 July 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
Adjective
originally Scots & regional northern English, going back to early Scots, "free from risk, sagacious, prudent, cautious," probably from can "ability" (noun derivative of can can entry 1) + -y -y entry 1
First Known Use
Adjective
1596, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Adverb
1786, in the meaning defined above
Kids Definition
canny
adjective
can·ny ˈka-nē
cannier; canniest
: clever especially in taking advantage of opportunities : shrewd
a canny decision
canny shoppers
canniness
noun
1
as in intelligence
exceptional discernment and judgment especially in practical matters negotiates business deals with all of the proverbial canniness of an old-time horse trader Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- intelligence
- wit
- shrewdness
- astuteness
- acumen
- wisdom
- insight
- caginess
- hardheadedness
- intellect
- keenness
- knowingness
- sense
- perceptivity
- clear-sightedness
- foxiness
- sharpness
- cunning
- perceptiveness
- sagacity
- artfulness
- perception
- wiliness
- percipience
- slyness
- subtlety
- guile
- sagaciousness
- cageyness
- discernment
- deviousness
- sneakiness
- sapience
- reason
- slickness
- subtleness
- craftiness
- brain(s)
- sageness
- artifice
- craft
- gray matter
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- ingenuousness
- guilelessness
- naïveté
- naiveté
- artlessness
- unworldliness
- naivete
- unsophistication
- simplicity
- simplemindedness
- innocence
- greenness
- naiveness
- simpleness
- obtuseness
- witlessness
- stupidity
- density
- dopiness
- fatuity
- foolishness
- brainlessness
- slowness
- oafishness
- vacuity
- dumbness
- mindlessness
- stupidness
- senselessness
- doltishness
- half-wittedness
2
as in cunning
skill in achieving one's ends through indirect, subtle, or underhanded means the canniness with which she negotiated her contract as spokesperson for the shoe manufacturer Synonyms & Similar Words
- cunning
- artfulness
- wiliness
- slyness
- subtlety
- guile
- deviousness
- caginess
- sneakiness
- cunningness
- slickness
- subtleness
- craftiness
- ease
- shrewdness
- foxiness
- inventiveness
- craft
- artifice
- cleverness
- guilefulness
- ingenuity
- calculation
- cageyness
- savvy
- finesse
- ingeniousness
- care
- design
- duplicity
- shiftiness
- sharpness
- underhandedness
- facility
- deceitfulness