slyness

noun

sly·​ness

plural -es

: the quality or state of being sly: such as

a

: shrewdness, craftiness

a very weak position of which the bishop with praiseworthy slyness took full advantage

—T. S. Eliot

b

: secretiveness

led him to escape … the next morning with admirable slyness

—Jane Austen

Word History

Etymology

Middle English sleghness, slinesse, from slegh, sli sly + -ness, -nesse -ness

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Rhymes for slyness

• coyness
• dryness
• highness
• linus
• minus
• pinus
• shyness
• sinus
• busyness
• equinus