wily

adjective

ˈwī-lē 

wilier; wiliest

: full of wiles : crafty

a wily negotiator

wilily

ˈwī-lə-lē 

adverb

wiliness

ˈwī-lē-nəs 

noun

Synonyms

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

Choose the Right Synonym for wily

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 wily in a Sentence

She turned out to be a wily negotiator.

a wily judge of character, she takes advantage of car buyers' insecurities to sell them a bigger machine than they really need

Recent Examples on the Web

Filmmakers found their wily fox with a heart of gold, Fink, in Pedro Pascal, but not the Pascal with whom audiences are familiar. —Mia Galuppo, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Jan. 2025

Anchoring his bravura action filmmaking are the performances of Paul Mescal and Pedro Pascal, both bravely playing straight men to some wild and wily characters who are conspiring to make Roman mayhem. —Steven Gaydos, Variety, 16 Dec. 2024

The group is comprised of a gaggle of tastemakers and film enthusiasts as random as the former Golden Globes, their choices often equally as wily and unpredictable. —Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 4 Dec. 2024

Set in the world of tabloid journalism, the Paparazzo follows an opportunistic outcast who needs fast cash to help his ailing mother and decides to partner with a wily paparazzo. —Mia Galuppo, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

wily

adjective

ˈwī-lē 

wilier; wiliest

: full of deceit : tricky

a wily opponent

wiliness noun