variants
also slily
as in cunningly
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Recent Examples of slyly
The cast rattles off the snappy dialogue, jagged with tension and menace, in performances that wink just slyly enough at the wry, knowing way that the characters deploy—and embody—gangland stereotypes.
—
Richard Brody, New Yorker, 28 Aug. 2025
Its blend of casual weirdness and ineffable showmanship — watch Carson slyly turn discomfort into comedy — distills the essence of late night better than any marquee guest or recurring segment.
—Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 7 Aug. 2025
Richard Brody, New Yorker, 28 Aug. 2025
Its blend of casual weirdness and ineffable showmanship — watch Carson slyly turn discomfort into comedy — distills the essence of late night better than any marquee guest or recurring segment.
—Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 7 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for slyly
Adverb
-
The complex portrayal wasn’t that far from Göring, who was the guy behind the guy atop the Nazi hierarchy who on the surface was a charming narcissist reputed to be a great dinner party guest, but was at heart a cunningly manipulative villain.—
Mike Fleming Jr,
Deadline,
8 Sep. 2025
Adverb
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Some players struggled against the size of bigger and stronger players, while others craftily created space with deft footwork and manipulation.—
Devin Robertson,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Aug. 2025
Adverb
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Changing congressional maps in a bid to ensure one party’s victory over another — called gerrymandering — has typically been done more furtively.—
Jesse Bedayn,
Chicago Tribune,
15 Aug. 2025
Adverb
-
Emily Gilmore, Gilmore Girls’ archly funny matriarch.—
Maggie McGrath,
Forbes.com,
30 July 2025
-
The new batch of six episodes, all written or co-written by its creator Charlie Brooker, reflects the full range of how the show has evolved to include new grooves — a mix of the horrific and the comedic, the hopeful and the nihilistic, the archly British and the sourly American.—
Nicholas Quah,
Vulture,
10 Apr. 2025
Adverb
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There have been more egregious Hollywood glow-ups than that of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren in the Conjuring movies, but how many of those have also been so insidiously appealing?—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
4 Sep. 2025
Adverb
-
Miami had found some urgency and regained the lead in the 66th minute when Jordi Alba, unusually in a central position, produced a killer defence-splitting pass to his former Barcelona teammate, who turned sharply and smartly before firing home from inside the box.—
The Athletic Staff,
New York Times,
21 Sep. 2025
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Hegseth's decision was quickly and sharply derided by members of the media and proponents of a free press, who noted that pre-approval of reportable material would limit the ability of reporters to provide vital news to the public about America's military.—
Quil Lawrence,
NPR,
20 Sep. 2025
Adverb
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The only scuffing—on shop doors, on the walls of the Métro—had been artfully painted on to make the scenery look appropriately aged.—
Bianca Bosker,
The Atlantic,
14 Sep. 2025
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The Radley team has also created a tabloid-style newspaper with an artfully blurry image of Beka and her Romilly bag on the cover, and an interview inside.—
Samantha Conti,
Footwear News,
9 Sep. 2025
Adverb
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Earlier this year, Tiffany Stratton, not very slickly, mentioned Charlotte Flair's three divorces during a promo ahead of WrestleMania 41.—
Ryan Morik,
FOXNews.com,
5 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Slyly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/slyly. Accessed 21 Sep. 2025.
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