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The "Lost" History of Devious
If you think someone devious has lost their way, you're right, etymologically speaking—the word derives from the Latin adjective devius, itself formed from the prefix de- ("from" or "away") and the noun via ("way"). When devious was first used in the 16th century, it implied a literal wandering off the way, suggesting something that meandered or had no fixed course (as in "a devious route" or "devious breezes"). Relatively quickly, however, the word came to describe someone or something that had left the right path metaphorically rather than literally, or to describe deceitful rather than straightforward behavior.
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Examples of devious in a Sentence
Derrik Klassen, The Athletic, 15 Jan. 2025
Repeatedly rising to the challenge of maneuvering through the film’s myriad plot twists and tonal shifts, McKellen is by turns imperiously hilarious, archly devious, forlornly melancholy and pathetically desperate.
—Joe Leydon, Variety, 13 Jan. 2025
Most devious of all might be the two attorneys hired to defend young Ma (Julian Cheung and Shirley Chan), a generically evil duo who do everything in their power to eliminate their client — and anyone who might testify on his behalf — before Fok can arrange for a climactic retrial.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 9 Jan. 2025
The lesson here was that complacency and incompetence can sometimes be just as threatening to cybersecurity and resilience as the most devious and determined hackers.
—Bernard Marr, Forbes, 8 Jan. 2025
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Dictionary Entries Near devious
Cite this Entry
“Devious.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/devious. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.
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devious
adjective
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