crafty

adjective

ˈkraf-tē 

craftier; craftiest

1

: skillful, clever

2

a

: adept in the use of subtlety and cunning

a crafty swindler

The crafty detective got the suspect to confess to the crime.

b

: marked by subtlety and guile

a crafty scheme

craftily

ˈkraf-tə-lē 

adverb

craftiness

ˈkraf-tē-nəs 

noun

Synonyms

• artful
• beguiling
• cagey
• cagy
• cunning
• cute
• designing
• devious
• dodgy [chiefly British]
• foxy
• guileful
• scheming
• shrewd
• slick
• sly
• subtle
• tricky
• wily

Choose the Right Synonym for crafty

sly, cunning, crafty, wily, tricky, foxy, artful, slick mean attaining or seeking to attain one's ends by guileful or devious means.

sly implies furtiveness, lack of candor, and skill in concealing one's aims and methods.

a sly corporate raider

cunning suggests the inventive use of sometimes limited intelligence in overreaching or circumventing.

the cunning fox avoided the trap

crafty implies cleverness and subtlety of method.

a crafty lefthander

wily implies skill and deception in maneuvering.

the wily fugitive escaped the posse

tricky is more likely to suggest shiftiness and unreliability than skill in deception and maneuvering.

a tricky political operative

foxy implies a shrewd and wary craftiness usually involving devious dealing.

a foxy publicity man planting stories

artful implies indirectness in dealing and often connotes sophistication or cleverness.

elicited the information by artful questioning

slick emphasizes smoothness and guile.

slick operators selling time-sharing

Examples of crafty in a Sentence

a crafty real estate broker who got people to sell their property at bargain prices

Recent Examples on the Web

The Scottish mod rogues are back with their best album in 15 years, a resurgence for the craftiest, most clever U.K. guitar band of their era. —Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 11 Jan. 2025

Throwing him in there with an explosive bruiser like Sheamus and a crafty technician like Kaiser was a great way to showcase everything great about all three guys. —Tom Rogers, Newsweek, 26 Dec. 2024

The Vols earned it after giving up a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to Junior Sherrill on the first play of the game, then allowing a 26-yard touchdown drive to crafty Diego Pavia and the Commodores after Sampson fumbled on UT’s second play from scrimmage. —Joe Rexrode, The Athletic, 1 Dec. 2024

Diaz would get Gio Urshela to ground out, but with two outs and runners on second and third, the crafty right-hander didn’t do the one thing pitchers must when a ground ball goes to first base: cover the bag. —Scott Thompson, Fox News, 30 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

see craft entry 1

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing crafty

• arty-crafty

Kids Definition

crafty

adjective

ˈkraf-tē 

craftier; craftiest

: skillful at deceiving others

craftily

-tə-lē 

adverb

craftiness

-tē-nəs 

noun