Synonyms of cunning

cunning 1 of 2

adjective

ˈkə-niŋ 

1

as in cute

clever at attaining one's ends by indirect and often deceptive means

a cunning, underhanded plan to win the election by preying on people's fears and prejudices

Synonyms & Similar Words

• cute
• subtle
• deceptive
• slick
• wily
• shrewd
• treacherous
• fraudulent
• dishonest
• sly
• devious
• crafty
• scheming
• artful
• designing
• crooked
• guileful
• beguiling
• tricky
• foxy
• cagey
• deceitful
• cagy
• calculating
• slippery
• dodgy
• shady
• astute
• sharp
• covert
• unscrupulous
• Machiavellian
• sneaky
• plotting
• clandestine
• undercover
• knavish
• glib
• underhanded
• shifty
• oblique
• facile
• serpentine
• underhand
• secret
• hypocritical
• circular
• concealed
• roundabout
• insincere
• stealthy
• circuitous
• surreptitious
• backhanded
• furtive
• insinuating
• double-dealing
• two-faced
• smooth-tongued
• mealy
• mealymouthed
• left-handed
• hugger-mugger

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• ingenuous
• guileless
• artless
• innocent
• obvious
• plain
• public
• simple
• real
• open
• outspoken
• direct
• sincere
• honest
• unconcealed
• forthright
• straightforward
• natural
• frank
• unaffected
• candid
• unpretentious
• patent
• unsophisticated
• childlike
• unpretending
• unvarnished
• impressionable
• unworldly
• simpleminded
• undesigning
• aboveboard
• plainspoken
• unstudied
• trusting
• unforced
• trustful

2

as in skilled

skillful with the hands

only the most cunning cabinetmaker could have crafted such a beautifully proportioned chest of drawers

Synonyms & Similar Words

• skilled
• skillful
• dextrous
• clever
• dexterous
• deft
• capable
• proficient
• handy
• adept
• graceful
• agile
• competent
• nimble
• limber
• able
• lissom
• masterful
• expert
• lissome
• lithe
• coordinated
• flexible
• masterly
• spry
• qualified
• lithesome
• habile
• sure-handed
• loose-jointed
• double-jointed

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• clumsy
• unhandy
• wooden
• heavy-handed
• handless
• uneasy
• awkward
• uncomfortable
• ungainly
• stiff
• gauche
• ungraceful
• gawky
• graceless
• stilted
• klutzy
• fumbling
• rough-hewn
• ham-fisted
• ham-handed
• incompetent
• uncoordinated
• butterfingered
• incapable
• inept
• bungling
• inexpert
• maladroit

cunning

2 of 2

noun

1

as in slyness

skill in achieving one's ends through indirect, subtle, or underhanded means

the cunning with which Tom Sawyer was able to get others to whitewash the fence for him

Synonyms & Similar Words

• slyness
• guile
• subtlety
• deviousness
• cunningness
• artfulness
• sneakiness
• wiliness
• craftiness
• canniness
• subtleness
• craft
• ease
• slickness
• artifice
• calculation
• shrewdness
• caginess
• cleverness
• savvy
• cageyness
• inventiveness
• ingenuity
• design
• foxiness
• care
• guilefulness
• ingeniousness
• finesse
• duplicity
• facility
• underhandedness
• sharpness
• shiftiness
• deceitfulness

2

as in skill

subtle or imaginative ability in inventing, devising, or executing something

the unmatched cunning of the scout who led them safely through the trackless wilderness

Synonyms & Similar Words

• skill
• skillfulness
• art
• cleverness
• ease
• artistry
• proficiency
• adeptness
• creativity
• artfulness
• talent
• adroitness
• deftness
• expertise
• knack
• masterfulness
• finesse
• aptitude
• artifice
• experience
• craft
• dexterity
• ingenuity
• inventiveness
• knowledge
• gift
• flair
• learning
• expertness
• handiness
• know-how
• bent

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• ineptitude
• artlessness
• ineptness
• clumsiness
• awkwardness
• rudeness
• crudeness
• amateurishness
• incompetence
• inability
• incapacity
• inefficiency
• maladroitness
• inadequacy
• ineffectiveness
• ineffectuality
• incapability
• inefficacy
• klutziness
• ineffectualness
• inadequateness

3

as in deception

the inclination or practice of misleading others through lies or trickery

used cunning and subterfuge to lure unwitting victims into the fraudulent scheme

Synonyms & Similar Words

• deception
• deceit
• deceptiveness
• cheating
• fraud
• deceitfulness
• lying
• guile
• duplicity
• cunningness
• double-dealing
• wiliness
• dissimulation
• craftiness
• dishonesty
• dissembling
• crookedness
• fakery
• cozenage
• secrecy
• crookery
• dupery
• craft
• subterfuge
• trickery
• artifice
• skullduggery
• foxiness
• shrewdness
• prevarication
• artfulness
• chicanery
• fraudulence
• guilefulness
• mendacity
• swindling
• skulduggery
• jugglery
• deviousness
• obliquity
• hypocrisy
• legerdemain
• equivocation
• wile
• insincerity
• slyness
• hanky-panky
• sneakiness
• underhandedness
• unscrupulousness
• chicane
• fib
• mountebankery
• sanctimoniousness
• stealthiness
• furtiveness
• caginess
• untruth
• falsehood
• covertness
• shiftiness
• smoothness
• treacherousness
• slipperiness
• cageyness
• shadiness
• two-facedness
• slickness
• falsity
• oiliness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• good faith
• sincerity
• ingenuousness
• artlessness
• frankness
• forthrightness
• candor
• directness
• openness
• guilelessness
• honesty
• plainness
• reliability
• probity
• solidity
• dependability
• goodness
• trustworthiness
• candidness
• integrity
• decency
• righteousness
• truthfulness
• plainspokenness
• uprightness
• incorruptibility
• reliableness
• trustiness
• virtuousness
• trustability

Synonym Chooser

How is the word cunning distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of cunning are artful, crafty, foxy, slick, sly, tricky, and wily. While all these words mean "attaining or seeking to attain one's ends by guileful or devious means," cunning suggests the inventive use of sometimes limited intelligence in overreaching or circumventing.

the cunning fox avoided the trap

In what contexts can artful take the place of cunning?

While in some cases nearly identical to cunning, artful implies indirectness in dealing and often connotes sophistication or cleverness.

elicited the information by artful questioning

Where would crafty be a reasonable alternative to cunning?

The synonyms crafty and cunning are sometimes interchangeable, but crafty implies cleverness and subtlety of method.

a crafty lefthander

When is it sensible to use foxy instead of cunning?

The words foxy and cunning can be used in similar contexts, but foxy implies a shrewd and wary craftiness usually involving devious dealing.

a foxy publicity man planting stories

When could slick be used to replace cunning?

In some situations, the words slick and cunning are roughly equivalent. However, slick emphasizes smoothness and guile.

slick operators selling time-sharing

When would sly be a good substitute for cunning?

Although the words sly and cunning have much in common, sly implies furtiveness, lack of candor, and skill in concealing one's aims and methods.

a sly corporate raider

When might tricky be a better fit than cunning?

While the synonyms tricky and cunning are close in meaning, tricky is more likely to suggest shiftiness and unreliability than skill in deception and maneuvering.

a tricky political operative

When can wily be used instead of cunning?

The meanings of wily and cunning largely overlap; however, wily implies skill and deception in maneuvering.

the wily fugitive escaped the posse

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of cunning

Adjective

Their infatuations are challenged by a cunning philosopher who persuades the bros to pretend they’ve been suddenly drafted and to return later in disguise to woo each other’s fiancée. —Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2025

Tristan’s cunning plan for telling Sykes about his beloved dead pigeon is to completely avoid him and pretend to be Siegfried on the phone. —Alice Burton, Vulture, 23 Feb. 2025

Noun

Just as Nordlinger shows that the peacemakers and Nobel laureates whose work holds up best are those who brought specific conflicts to an end, the organizations in Bob's account that get the most done are those that pursue limited goals with cunning and patience. —Walter Russell Mead, Foreign Affairs, 1 Nov. 2012

David slayed the giant with a slingshot; Esther by her cunning saved her people. —Gwen Faulkenberry, arkansasonline.com, 12 Dec. 2024