sly

[Sly]

When you're sly, you're crafty, cunning, tricky, and wily. Being sly is being deceitful, though not in the worst way.

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Dexterous in performing an action, so as to escape notice; nimble; skillful; cautious; shrewd; knowing; -- in a good sense.

Adjective S.
marked by skill in deception; "cunning men often pass for wise"; "deep political machinations"; "a foxy scheme"; "a slick evasive answer"; "sly as a fox"; "tricky Dik"; "a wily old attorney"

v. t.
Dexterous in performing an action, so as to escape notice; nimble; skillful; cautious; shrewd; knowing; -- in a good sense.

v. t.
Artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily.

v. t.
Done with, and marked by, artful and dexterous secrecy; subtle; as, a sly trick.

v. t.
Light or delicate; slight; thin.

adv.
Slyly.

Sly

Sly , a. [Compar. Slier or Slyer; superl. Sliest or Slyest.] [OE. sli, slegh, sleih, Icel slgr, for slgr; akin to Sw. slug, Dan. slu, LG. slou, G. schlau; probably to E. slay, v.t.; cf. G. verschlagen sly. See Slay, v. t., and cf. Sleight.] 1. Dexterous in performing an action, so as to escape notice; nimble; skillful; cautious; shrewd; knowing; -- in a good sense.

Be ye sly as serpents, and simple as doves.

Whom graver age And long experience hath made wise and sly.

2. Artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily.

For my sly wiles and subtle craftiness, The litle of the kingdom I possess.

3. Done with, and marked by, artful and dexterous secrecy; subtle; as, a sly trick.

Envy works in a sly and imperceptible manner.

4. Light or delicate; slight; thin. [Obs.] By the sly, ∨ On the sly, in a sly or secret manner. [Colloq.] "Gazed on Hetty's charms by the sly." G. Eliot. -- Sly goose (Zo'94l.), the common sheldrake; -- so named from its craftiness. Syn. -- Cunning; crafty; subtile; wily. See Cunning.

Sly

Sly, adv. Slyly. [Obs. or Poetic] Spenser.

Dexterous in performing an action, so as to escape notice; nimble; skillful; cautious; shrewd; knowing; -- in a good sense.

Slyly.

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Usage Examples

There are some women whose pregnancy would make some sly bachelor smile.

Misspelled Form

sly, asly, wsly, esly, dsly, xsly, zsly, aly, wly, ely, dly, xly, zly, saly, swly, sely, sdly, sxly, szly, skly, soly, sply, s:ly, sky, soy, spy, s:y, slky, sloy, slpy, sl:y, slty, sl6y, sl7y, sluy, slhy, slt, sl6, sl7, slu, slh, slyt, sly6, sly7, slyu, slyh.

Other Usage Examples