craftier; craftiest
1
2
a
: adept in the use of subtlety and cunning
a crafty swindler
The crafty detective got the suspect to confess to the crime.
b
: marked by subtlety and guile
a crafty scheme
craftily adverb
craftiness noun
Choose the Right Synonym for crafty

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 crafty in a Sentence

a crafty real estate broker who got people to sell their property at bargain prices
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Their other top highlight was Benoit getting in a fight, which may have been a crafty gambit to halt play while he was stuck on the ice during a long shift. Nick Ashbourne, The Athletic, 7 Feb. 2025 This moment is clearly designed to set up next season’s feuds, but Gay, the crafty ringleader of the bunch — practically a producer on the show — frames it as a necessary release for the paranoid group of friends. Kyndall Cunningham, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018 The Scottish mod rogues are back with their best album in 15 years, a resurgence for the craftiest, most clever U.K. guitar band of their era. Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 11 Jan. 2025 Throwing him in there with an explosive bruiser like Sheamus and a crafty technician like Kaiser was a great way to showcase everything great about all three guys. Tom Rogers, Newsweek, 26 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for crafty 

Word History

Etymology

see craft entry 1

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of crafty was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near crafty

Cite this Entry

“Crafty.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crafty. Accessed 13 Feb. 2025.

Kids Definition

crafty

adjective
craftier; craftiest
: skillful at deceiving others
craftily adverb
craftiness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on crafty

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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