wily

adjective

ˈwī-lē How to pronounce wily (audio)
wilier; wiliest
Synonyms of wily
: full of wiles : crafty
a wily negotiator
wilily
ˈwī-lə-lē How to pronounce wily (audio)
adverb
wiliness
ˈwī-lē-nəs How to pronounce wily (audio)
noun

Synonyms of wily

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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
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.
As many as 13,000 of the wily reptiles live in the swamp, adding a layer of spellbinding magic to the wetland. — Charles Seabrook, AJC.com, 25 July 2026 The Kolkata Knight Riders’ wily spin duo of Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine conceded only eight in 10 combined balls. — Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 24 July 2026 Argentina’s wily, extroverted goalkeeper, Emiliano Martínez, was its standout performer, repelling some, spilling others. — Sam Knight, New Yorker, 20 July 2026 Damon is rugged and haunting in this absolute star turn as Odysseus, who, in a departure from the wilier original, is written as a true-hearted hero whose primary flaw was his unwavering loyalty to his men and his family. — Hannah Abraham, Forbes.com, 18 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for wily

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

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

Rhymes for wily

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Browse Nearby Words

Wiltshire side
wily
wimberry
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Cite this Entry

“Wily.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wily. Accessed 31 Jul. 2026.

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Kids Definition

wily

adjective
ˈwī-lē How to pronounce wily (audio)
wilier; wiliest
: full of deceit : tricky
a wily opponent
wiliness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on wily

Nglish: Translation of wily for Spanish Speakers

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