guilenoun [ U ]
uk/ɡaɪl/us/ɡaɪl/formalclever but sometimes dishonest behaviour that you use to deceive someone:
The president will need to use all her political guile to stay in power.
He is a simple man, totally lacking in guile.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Sly & devious
- artful
- backdoor
- calculating
- calculation
- conniving
- conspiratorial
- cunning
- devious
- disingenuous
- fox
- foxy
- legerdemain
- scheme
- sleight of hand
- sneaky
- trick
- tricky
- underhand
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