as in cunning
skill in achieving one's ends through indirect, subtle, or underhanded means
we were both impressed and outraged by the expert slickness with which the swindler fooled us
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of slickness
But there’s an innate slickness to drone footage that can turn a shot of, say, a South Texas Starbucks into a joke, and there’s a mechanical quality to the way drones glide through the air that, even if controlled by a human, feels impersonal — a view from nowhere.
—
Alison Willmore, Vulture, 1 May 2026
And despite the Grand Hotel Belvedere's slickness, behind the scenes it is run according to the sweet sort of interdependence demanded by any small town but especially one so isolated.
—Alice Gregory, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Feb. 2026
He was ruled offside, but the poor timing of his run takes nothing away from the slickness of the combination, nor the effectiveness of the tactic.
—Liam Tharme, New York Times, 28 Oct. 2025
Untouched by any chain stores or contemporary slickness, the neighborhood’s highlights include the Tea House on Los Rios inside a 1911 Victorian, cottage-like Hummingbird House Cafe and Hidden House Coffee found inside a Craftsman.
—Staff Report, Oc Register, 17 Sep. 2025
There’s a slickness about the style of everyone who lives here, and Missy captures that.
—Robyn Mowatt, Essence, 9 Sep. 2025
Alison Willmore, Vulture, 1 May 2026
And despite the Grand Hotel Belvedere's slickness, behind the scenes it is run according to the sweet sort of interdependence demanded by any small town but especially one so isolated.
—Alice Gregory, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Feb. 2026
He was ruled offside, but the poor timing of his run takes nothing away from the slickness of the combination, nor the effectiveness of the tactic.
—Liam Tharme, New York Times, 28 Oct. 2025
Untouched by any chain stores or contemporary slickness, the neighborhood’s highlights include the Tea House on Los Rios inside a 1911 Victorian, cottage-like Hummingbird House Cafe and Hidden House Coffee found inside a Craftsman.
—Staff Report, Oc Register, 17 Sep. 2025
There’s a slickness about the style of everyone who lives here, and Missy captures that.
—Robyn Mowatt, Essence, 9 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for slickness
Noun
-
Maybe the mere fact of having been born illustrious, with no apparent faults, with nothing to prove or to be ashamed of, had liberated John from the resentments the rest of us feel, and from the cunning and ambition such resentments fuel.—
Jeffrey Eugenides,
New Yorker,
4 Apr. 2026
-
The Brazil international combines technical craft with a decisive cunning.—
Carl Anka,
New York Times,
21 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
But whether this person galumphed, ambled, or dragged herself up the trail is a matter of what subtleties her movement suggested to you.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
1 May 2026
-
In an edition that was all about the subtleties of watchmaking, one had to keep their eyes peeled to get all the subtleties of what the exhibitors at Watches and Wonders packed into 40-something-millimeter formats.—
Lily Templeton,
Footwear News,
1 May 2026
Noun
-
Mike Bowman, designer, furniture industry expert, and director of marketing for Harmonia Living, says this trend relies on furnishings to bring artfulness to a space—rather than just functionality.—
Patricia Shannon,
Better Homes & Gardens,
10 Jan. 2026
-
There is a real seriousness to the score — the scheming bad-guy music has the artfulness of Prokofiev, and even the sneaking-around cues have musical integrity and structure.—
Tim Greiving,
Vulture,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The harp is not an instrument of slyness, wryness, or the earth.—
Emma Madden,
Pitchfork,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Like the tricksters of myth, there’s depth to their slyness.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
5 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Want to dress with ease, but not lose your sense of play—or personality?—
Laura Jackson,
Vogue,
7 May 2026
-
Building an empire The relative ease with which Black Bear became youth hockey’s most dominant player reflects the sport’s particular vulnerability to corporate capture.—
Kenny Jacoby,
USA Today,
7 May 2026
Noun
-
The real surprise comes from the subtleness of the rose.—
Katlyn Moncada,
Better Homes & Gardens,
17 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The label cut its teeth with 12 inches and compilations but The Black Dog produced [one] album of breath-taking technical guile.—
Liza Lentini,
SPIN,
1 May 2026
-
The move has allowed Brind’Amour to load up his top line with Andrei Svechnikov and Seth Jarvis on Aho’s wing, while Hall has brought size and veteran guile to the second line with Stankoven and Blake.—
Cory Lavalette,
New York Times,
21 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Slickness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/slickness. Accessed 10 May. 2026.
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