cunningadjective
uk/ˈkʌn.ɪŋ/us/ˈkʌn.ɪŋ/cunning adjective (CLEVER)
C2 Cunning people are clever at planning something so that they get what they want, especially by tricking other people, or things that are cleverly made for a particular purpose:
a cunning plan/ploy
He's a very cunning man.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Sly & devious
- artful
- backdoor
- calculating
- calculation
- conniving
- conspiratorial
- devious
- disingenuous
- fox
- foxy
- guile
- legerdemain
- scheme
- sleight of hand
- sneaky
- trick
- tricky
- underhand
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cunning adjective (ATTRACTIVE)
US old-fashioned pretty and attractive:
a cunning little child/puppy/kitten
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Attractive
- a sight for sore eyes idiom
- adorable
- aesthetic
- alluring
- angelic
- distinguished
- dreamy
- easy
- elegant
- enchanting
- not be just a pretty face idiom
- ornamental
- photogenic
- photograph
- picture
- sylphlike
- well built
- winning
- winsome
- zaftig
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cunningly
adverb uk/ˈkʌn.ɪŋ.li/us/ˈkʌn.ɪŋ.li/
cunningnoun [ U ]
uk/ˈkʌn.ɪŋ/us/ˈkʌn.ɪŋ/the quality or skill of being clever at planning something so you get what you want, especially by tricking other people:
We need to show some cunning if we want to defeat the enemy.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Sly & devious
- artful
- backdoor
- calculating
- calculation
- conniving
- conspiratorial
- devious
- disingenuous
- fox
- foxy
- guile
- legerdemain
- scheme
- sleight of hand
- sneaky
- trick
- tricky
- underhand
See more results »