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TOEFL IELTS BNC: 9717 COCA: 12813

cunning

1 of 2

adjective

cun·​ning ˈkə-niŋ How to pronounce cunning (audio)
1
: dexterous or crafty in the use of special resources (such as skill or knowledge) or in attaining an end
a cunning plotter
2
: characterized by wiliness and trickery
cunning schemes
3
: prettily appealing : cute
a cunning little kitten
4
: displaying keen insight
a cunning observation
cunningly
ˈkə-niŋ-lē How to pronounce cunning (audio)
adverb
cunningness noun

cunning

2 of 2

noun

1
: dexterous skill and subtlety (as in inventing, devising, or executing)
high-ribbed vault … with perfect cunning framed William Wordsworth
2
: craft, slyness
3
obsolete
a
: knowledge, learning
b
: magic art

Synonyms

Adjective

Noun

Choose the Right Synonym for cunning

Adjective

clever, adroit, cunning, ingenious mean having or showing practical wit or skill in contriving.

clever stresses physical or mental quickness, deftness, or great aptitude.

a person clever with horses

adroit often implies a skillful use of expedients to achieve one's purpose in spite of difficulties.

an adroit negotiator

cunning implies great skill in constructing or creating.

a filmmaker cunning in his use of special effects

ingenious suggests the power of inventing or discovering a new way of accomplishing something.

an ingenious software engineer

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

Noun

art, skill, cunning, artifice, craft mean the faculty of executing well what one has devised.

art implies a personal, unanalyzable creative power.

the art of choosing the right word

skill stresses technical knowledge and proficiency.

the skill of a glassblower

cunning suggests ingenuity and subtlety in devising, inventing, or executing.

a mystery plotted with great cunning

artifice suggests technical skill especially in imitating things in nature.

believed realism in film could be achieved only by artifice

craft may imply expertness in workmanship.

the craft of a master goldsmith

Example Sentences

Adjective … this cat has made his way into the Fitness Center for cunning reasons of his own and reveals himself only to certain privileged individuals. Joyce Carol Oates, Harper's, June 2008 Throughout his time hunting the vampire, Manolito had been wounded and poisoned on many occasions, but still he'd survived because he'd always used his brain. He was cunning and shrewd and very intelligent. Christine Feehan, Dark Possession, 2007 I have recounted the advice I received from an old-timer about how to keep raccoons out of garbage cans—advice that eventually included the purchase of a combination lock. ("A raccoon's cunning, but he's got no head for figures.") Calvin Trillin, New Yorker, 11 Oct. 1993 A cunning politician is often found skulking under the clerical robe, with an outside all religion, and an inside all political rancour. Washington Irving, A History of New York, 1809, in History, Tales and Sketches,  (1977) 1983 So the Leader went into his den and looked at his children—two very cunning little cubs, lying on the floor. Hugh Lofting, The Story of Doctor Dolittle, 1920 She was cunning enough to fool me. a cunning, underhanded plan to win the election by preying on people's fears and prejudices Noun The writing is best in the play's later scenes, when More deploys his legal cunning to help him weasel out of a political trap set by the oleaginous Thomas Cromwell … John Lahr, New Yorker, 20 Oct. 2008 Tsvetaeva was lacking, moreover, in any instinct for cunning or self-preservation, or even for what might be called mere getting along … Claudia Roth Pierpont, New Yorker, 7 Feb. 1994 He could see no change, save that in the eyes there was a look of cunning and in the mouth the curved wrinkle of the hypocrite. Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, 1891 He may be a fraud, but you have to admire his cunning. the cunning with which Tom Sawyer was able to get others to whitewash the fence for him See More
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
The weak position means resorting to tricks that are not to do with being physically strong but to do with clever tongues, cunning, and high spirits. Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, 26 June 2022 And of course, the Kardashian family has created a multibillion-dollar empire out of cunning, chutzpah, a complete lack of inhibition and a willingness to confect drama for ratings. refinery29.com, 18 May 2022 That’s Odysseus—the wiliness, that idea of the cunning trickster. Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, 26 June 2022 Even if Lady Macbeth appears in substantially fewer scenes than her husband, her cunning mind — and Negga’s command of Shakespeare’s verse — leave an indelible imprint. New York Times, 7 June 2022 Coughlan does great work, balancing Penelope's outward character and the more cunning Whistledown within her. Kelly Lawler, USA TODAY, 24 Mar. 2022 Everything about this cunning story makes a mockery of its title. Ron Charles, Washington Post, 17 May 2022 Pugh is playing Princess Irulan, the daughter of the emperor, while Butler is Feyd-Rautha, the cunning nephew of the baron who heads House Harkonnen and who is being groomed to rule Arrakis. Borys Kit, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 May 2022 Did Kathleen Peterson die in a tragic fall — or did her novelist husband, Michael, script a cunning murder? Patrick Rogers, PEOPLE.com, 5 May 2022
Noun
Harris’ Duke plays the villainous snob with a degree of cunning that keeps us uncertain of the extent of his depravity. Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2022 Not the brilliant but marginalized borderline personality so popular in today’s television, but the real deal, a creature held together by flop sweat, desperate cunning and doggedly delusional ambition. Ed Stockly, Los Angeles Times, 26 July 2022 The conceptual cunning of Rivera Garza’s stories cannot account for the passion that warms them. Merve Emre, The New Yorker, 4 July 2022 That Boris Johnson survived Monday’s snap no-confidence vote within his party is a testament to the British Prime Minister’s charisma and cunning. The Editorial Board, WSJ, 6 June 2022 To go in knowing little or nothing about the play may be the purest way to experience its dramatic cunning. Naveen Kumar, Variety, 17 Apr. 2022 If talks fail, Bennett could appear to have been outsmarted by Putin's cunning and could be blamed for the conflict having worsened. Tia Goldenberg, ajc, 6 Mar. 2022 If talks fail, Bennett could appear to have been outsmarted by Putin's cunning and could be blamed for the conflict having worsened. Tia Goldenberg, The Christian Science Monitor, 6 Mar. 2022 There also isn’t any record of their possessing any abilities more superhuman than cunning and charisma. Joe Leydon, Variety, 4 Apr. 2022 See More

Word History

Etymology

Adjective and Noun

Middle English, from present participle of can know

First Known Use

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3a

Time Traveler
The first known use of cunning was in the 14th century

Phrases Containing cunning

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