devious

de·vi·ous

adjective \ˈdē-vē-əs, -vyəs\

Definition of DEVIOUS

1

a : wandering, roundabout <a devious path>

b : moving without a fixed course : errant <devious breezes>

2

: out-of-the-way, remote

3

a : deviating from a right, accepted, or common course <devious conduct>

b : not straightforward : cunning <a devious politician>; also : deceptive <a devious trick>

— de·vi·ous·ly adverb

— de·vi·ous·ness noun

Examples of DEVIOUS

1. a dishonest and devious politician
2. He took us by a devious route to the center of the city.

Origin of DEVIOUS

Latin devius, from de from + via way — more at de-, way

First Known Use: 1599

Related to DEVIOUS

Synonyms

beguiling, cagey (also cagy), crafty, cunning, cute, designing, artful, dodgy [chiefly British], foxy, guileful, scheming, shrewd, slick, sly, subtle, tricky, wily

Antonyms

artless, guileless, ingenuous, innocent, undesigning

Related Words

astute, facile, glib, sharp; crooked, deceitful, deceptive, dishonest, fraudulent, insinuating, knavish, Machiavellian, oblique, serpentine, shady, shifty, slippery, sneaky, treacherous, underhand, underhanded, unscrupulous; backhanded, double-dealing, hypocritical, insincere, left-handed, mealy, mealymouthed, smooth-tongued, two-faced; circuitous, circular, roundabout; clandestine, concealed, covert, furtive, hugger-mugger, secret, stealthy, surreptitious, undercover; calculating, plotting

Near Antonyms

obvious, open, patent, plain, public, unconcealed; aboveboard, candid, direct, forthright, frank, honest, natural, outspoken, plainspoken, real, simple, sincere, straightforward, unaffected, unpretending, unpretentious, unvarnished; childlike, impressionable, simpleminded, unsophisticated, unworldly; unforced, unstudied; trustful, trusting

Rhymes with DEVIOUS

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