| 释义 |
Definition of sly in English: slyadjectiveslyer, slyest slʌɪslaɪ 1Having or showing a cunning and deceitful nature. a sly, manipulative woman Example sentencesExamples - How could he have forgotten how sly and deceitful Viya was?
- His character is a blending of many different traits: he's smart, sly, manipulative, dangerous, and much more.
- Those raised in urban Western understanding of the psychology of the animal kingdom tend to view the fox as a cunning, sly, deceitful animal.
- But it is dispensed with such style, coupled to such a mixture of absurd silliness and sly knowingness about human nature, that you can't help falling for its charms.
- Diplomacy as a game values the sly, the cunning, the underhanded, the crafty.
- The dialogue is often artful, with sly suggestions that the seeds of various Shakespearean plots and themes were sown in the muck of their messy affair.
- Ray was oblivious to my cunning and sly plan, and I kept it that way.
- It's not impossible that such a conspiracy is taking place, because there are many sly people who manipulate the dumb citizens for their own benefit.
- Lord knows the girl had made enough sly remarks about them getting together.
- When Chinese describe a person as ‘a monkey’, it means the person is extremely sly or cunning.
- These bungalows had their own world, their own parties and picnics, their special sly and subtle ‘in’ jokes.
- He was cunning, sly and a good strategist, beating her at games of wits when others can't.
- She'd obviously met a bad bunch, for McCabe is immoral, deceitful and sly.
- I'm starting to go faster at each race but I'm still not sly enough when it comes to hitting my adversaries!
- Her letters therefore reveal a web of motives and sly manipulation that her uncomfortable position encouraged.
- If the character feels angry, I go crazy; and it's the same with sadness, but with the Marquise, she is sly and calculating and that's my hardest challenge.
- The Romans, who will resolutely overwhelm an adversary with the might of arms, they say Phoenicians are deceitful and sly.
- She was a rather cunning and sly teenager by nature, accented by her narrow brown eyes and usual smirk.
- It is sly, clever after a fashion, and undeniably effective.
Synonyms cunning, crafty, clever, wily, artful, guileful, tricky, conniving, scheming, devious, designing, deceitful, duplicitous, dishonest, disingenuous, underhand, sneaky, untrustworthy manipulative, calculating, Machiavellian informal foxy, shifty British informal fly Australian/New Zealand informal shonky South African informal slim archaic subtle rare carny - 1.1 Showing in an insinuating way that one has some secret knowledge that may be harmful or embarrassing.
Example sentencesExamples - By delivering her message with a sly grin, West reminded us that sex - and, by extension, life - is supposed to be fun.
- At the Chelsea Flower Show, Ann-Marie Powell finds garden designers looking to a geometric future and enjoys japesters taking a sly dig at the past
- His early morning frown slowly turned into a sly, cheeky grin, as if to say, ‘Look what I've found.’
- He couldn't resist what appeared a sly dig at the directors of Dundee, suggesting that by refusing to accept his offer to invest, they were willing to risk their club's financial well-being.
- Stan nodded conspiratorially, a sly grin creeping over his face.
- Juliano would turn around and there would be Petty, looking at him with a sly grin that said, ‘I got you again.’
- ‘We may let in a few goals,’ he said with a sly grin.
- But that short eyebrow, sly grin and crooked jaw are now what make me, well, me.
- Was voting for these awards a sly dig at the American establishment?
- A sly, mischievous grin then appeared on the thief's face.
- The sly grin on his face and the glint in Len's eyes said it all.
- The entire nation tuned in to watch his presentation of the 1994-1995 budget interspersed with Urdu couplets and sly digs at the opposition.
- He used to peel down to his jockstrap, muscles glistening, sly grin flashing, while firing cryptic answers at the media, which he loathed.
- Oozing grace, charm, wit and style, she gives a masterclass of the English mannered style - a raised eyebrow here or a sly grin there sufficient to keep us engaged.
- He seems touched but then can't resist having a sly dig at himself by pointing out that the really tender thing to have done would have been not to include it on the album.
- Given his reluctance to admit the obvious, it's no surprise he still manages to aim a selection of sly digs at the Australian umpires and authorities.
- His hair will be carefully dishevelled (by me), he will be unshaven, and he will wear a sly grin.
- ‘Something for you to eat,’ replies the breakfast girl with a sly grin.
- On the cover shot, Fleck sports a sly grin as if he knew what a wonderful journey he was about to embark on.
- Galloway asked them, with a sly grin, to look out for his car.
Synonyms roguish, mischievous, impish, puckish, playful, teasing, naughty, wicked, waggish arch, knowing Scottish & Northern English informal pawky - 1.2 (of an action) surreptitious.
Example sentencesExamples - Nelson took a sip of the wine and a sly smile appeared.
Synonyms surreptitious, furtive, stealthy, covert, secret
Phrases she was drinking on the sly Example sentencesExamples - The king's wife finds out his secret, and on the sly sends for the two children in the king's name.
- In truth, most of those same execs were having the movies in question transferred to tape so they could watch them in their homes or offices, and those transfers were getting duped on the sly and traded for other movies.
- Still, it didn't stop youngsters from smuggling comic books among their school texts, and reading them on the sly, sometimes in class where the subject was boring, or when the teacher was an uninspiring type.
- They couldn't, and there was no way they could force the towns with ‘superior’ state law or, well, bribe over half the town population on the sly.
- And there still is such a thing as scavenging on the sly - sneaking into dumpsters for the great find.
- He said: ‘The people around here have not had a chance to say anything, it has been done completely on the sly.’
- Cyclists take tows on the sly, grab drinks and food from them, and are paced back to the pack by them.
- Younger and wirier than his charge, talking a mile a minute and singing during his chores, he nonetheless shows a careworn, weary face, and he drinks on the sly.
- Unfortunately, the train to my conference left at 4 AM after a night spent trying to acquire a travel visa on the sly, which meant drinking a lot of vodka.
- During examination time, it is common to hear parental lamentations about children abandoning their books and watching TV on the sly, whenever the elders are not around to keep a watchful eye.
Synonyms in secret, secretly, furtively, stealthily, sneakily, slyly, surreptitiously, covertly, clandestinely, on the quiet, on the side, behind someone's back, under cover
Derivatives noun ˈslʌɪnəsˈslaɪnəs ‘The slyness was a horrible moral and personal version of spots,’ he says, ‘and I think I just grew out of it in a strange way.’ Example sentencesExamples - And there's more, quite a lot, actually, starting with the boy's transparent slyness.
- He can pull a prank with craftiness and slyness, so cunningly that even the heroes of war would not be able to spot it.
- He was often accused of political intractability, lack of imperativeness and excessive slyness.
- He seems to know all the possible ways one might lie-with craftiness, slyness, deception.
- He was often accused of political intractability, a lack of imperativeness, too great a readiness to take clairvoyants seriously, and excessive slyness.
Origin Middle English (also in the sense 'dexterous'): from Old Norse slœgr 'cunning', originally 'able to strike' from the verb slá; compare with sleight. Early use of sly, which comes from Old Norse slœgr ‘cunning’, included the sense ‘dexterous, skilful’. The phrase on the sly is recorded in use from the early 19th century. Sleight (Middle English) is from the same source, and passed from the sense ‘cunning’ to ‘sleight of hand’ in the late 16th century.
Rhymes ally, Altai, apply, assai, awry, ay, aye, Baha'i, belie, bi, Bligh, buy, by, bye, bye-bye, chi, Chiangmai, Ciskei, comply, cry, Cy, Dai, defy, deny, Di, die, do-or-die, dry, Dubai, dye, espy, eye, fie, fly, forbye, fry, Frye, goodbye (US goodby), guy, hereby, hi, hie, high, I, imply, I-spy, July, kai, lie, lye, Mackay, misapply, my, nearby, nigh, Nye, outfly, passer-by, phi, pi, pie, ply, pry, psi, Qinghai, rai, rely, rocaille, rye, scry, serai, shanghai, shy, sigh, sky, Skye, sky-high, spin-dry, spry, spy, sty, Sukhotai, supply, Tai, Thai, thereby, thigh, thy, tie, Transkei, try, tumble-dry, underlie, Versailles, Vi, vie, whereby, why, wry, Wye, xi, Xingtai, Yantai Definition of sly in US English: slyadjectiveslīslaɪ 1Having or showing a cunning and deceitful nature. she had a sly personality Example sentencesExamples - How could he have forgotten how sly and deceitful Viya was?
- She'd obviously met a bad bunch, for McCabe is immoral, deceitful and sly.
- These bungalows had their own world, their own parties and picnics, their special sly and subtle ‘in’ jokes.
- He was cunning, sly and a good strategist, beating her at games of wits when others can't.
- But it is dispensed with such style, coupled to such a mixture of absurd silliness and sly knowingness about human nature, that you can't help falling for its charms.
- It's not impossible that such a conspiracy is taking place, because there are many sly people who manipulate the dumb citizens for their own benefit.
- It is sly, clever after a fashion, and undeniably effective.
- Diplomacy as a game values the sly, the cunning, the underhanded, the crafty.
- Ray was oblivious to my cunning and sly plan, and I kept it that way.
- The Romans, who will resolutely overwhelm an adversary with the might of arms, they say Phoenicians are deceitful and sly.
- When Chinese describe a person as ‘a monkey’, it means the person is extremely sly or cunning.
- She was a rather cunning and sly teenager by nature, accented by her narrow brown eyes and usual smirk.
- The dialogue is often artful, with sly suggestions that the seeds of various Shakespearean plots and themes were sown in the muck of their messy affair.
- I'm starting to go faster at each race but I'm still not sly enough when it comes to hitting my adversaries!
- Lord knows the girl had made enough sly remarks about them getting together.
- Her letters therefore reveal a web of motives and sly manipulation that her uncomfortable position encouraged.
- Those raised in urban Western understanding of the psychology of the animal kingdom tend to view the fox as a cunning, sly, deceitful animal.
- His character is a blending of many different traits: he's smart, sly, manipulative, dangerous, and much more.
- If the character feels angry, I go crazy; and it's the same with sadness, but with the Marquise, she is sly and calculating and that's my hardest challenge.
Synonyms cunning, crafty, clever, wily, artful, guileful, tricky, conniving, scheming, devious, designing, deceitful, duplicitous, dishonest, disingenuous, underhand, sneaky, untrustworthy - 1.1 (of a remark, glance, or facial expression) showing in an insinuating way that one has some secret knowledge that may be harmful or embarrassing.
Example sentencesExamples - On the cover shot, Fleck sports a sly grin as if he knew what a wonderful journey he was about to embark on.
- ‘We may let in a few goals,’ he said with a sly grin.
- His early morning frown slowly turned into a sly, cheeky grin, as if to say, ‘Look what I've found.’
- He used to peel down to his jockstrap, muscles glistening, sly grin flashing, while firing cryptic answers at the media, which he loathed.
- But that short eyebrow, sly grin and crooked jaw are now what make me, well, me.
- ‘Something for you to eat,’ replies the breakfast girl with a sly grin.
- A sly, mischievous grin then appeared on the thief's face.
- Galloway asked them, with a sly grin, to look out for his car.
- By delivering her message with a sly grin, West reminded us that sex - and, by extension, life - is supposed to be fun.
- He couldn't resist what appeared a sly dig at the directors of Dundee, suggesting that by refusing to accept his offer to invest, they were willing to risk their club's financial well-being.
- He seems touched but then can't resist having a sly dig at himself by pointing out that the really tender thing to have done would have been not to include it on the album.
- Juliano would turn around and there would be Petty, looking at him with a sly grin that said, ‘I got you again.’
- Oozing grace, charm, wit and style, she gives a masterclass of the English mannered style - a raised eyebrow here or a sly grin there sufficient to keep us engaged.
- Stan nodded conspiratorially, a sly grin creeping over his face.
- Was voting for these awards a sly dig at the American establishment?
- At the Chelsea Flower Show, Ann-Marie Powell finds garden designers looking to a geometric future and enjoys japesters taking a sly dig at the past
- The sly grin on his face and the glint in Len's eyes said it all.
- His hair will be carefully dishevelled (by me), he will be unshaven, and he will wear a sly grin.
- The entire nation tuned in to watch his presentation of the 1994-1995 budget interspersed with Urdu couplets and sly digs at the opposition.
- Given his reluctance to admit the obvious, it's no surprise he still manages to aim a selection of sly digs at the Australian umpires and authorities.
Synonyms roguish, mischievous, impish, puckish, playful, teasing, naughty, wicked, waggish - 1.2 (of an action) surreptitious.
Example sentencesExamples - Nelson took a sip of the wine and a sly smile appeared.
Synonyms surreptitious, furtive, stealthy, covert, secret
Phrases she was drinking on the sly Example sentencesExamples - The king's wife finds out his secret, and on the sly sends for the two children in the king's name.
- And there still is such a thing as scavenging on the sly - sneaking into dumpsters for the great find.
- Cyclists take tows on the sly, grab drinks and food from them, and are paced back to the pack by them.
- Still, it didn't stop youngsters from smuggling comic books among their school texts, and reading them on the sly, sometimes in class where the subject was boring, or when the teacher was an uninspiring type.
- Unfortunately, the train to my conference left at 4 AM after a night spent trying to acquire a travel visa on the sly, which meant drinking a lot of vodka.
- In truth, most of those same execs were having the movies in question transferred to tape so they could watch them in their homes or offices, and those transfers were getting duped on the sly and traded for other movies.
- During examination time, it is common to hear parental lamentations about children abandoning their books and watching TV on the sly, whenever the elders are not around to keep a watchful eye.
- He said: ‘The people around here have not had a chance to say anything, it has been done completely on the sly.’
- They couldn't, and there was no way they could force the towns with ‘superior’ state law or, well, bribe over half the town population on the sly.
- Younger and wirier than his charge, talking a mile a minute and singing during his chores, he nonetheless shows a careworn, weary face, and he drinks on the sly.
Synonyms in secret, secretly, furtively, stealthily, sneakily, slyly, surreptitiously, covertly, clandestinely, on the quiet, on the side, behind someone's back, under cover
Origin Middle English (also in the sense ‘dexterous’): from Old Norse slœgr ‘cunning’, originally ‘able to strike’ from the verb slá; compare with sleight. |