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 WebBut to meet his destiny as a fur-trapping legend, Jean must contend with a wily beaver population — often spied in teams of two, carting logs toward a mysterious location — who harbor their own plans for survival-of-the-fittest domination.—Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 15 Mar. 2024 The promising aspects start with the effective mix of young unknowns and wily veterans stepping into these big roles.—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 22 Feb. 2024 Achieving an effective vaccine has taken so long because malaria is a uniquely wily foe.—Maryn McKenna, WIRED, 9 Oct. 2023 Retelling the story of this wily chocolatier might seem a daunting task.—Mayukh Sen, Bon Appétit, 15 Dec. 2023 Spielberg is tickled by the grifter in Schindler, the wily operator who sets out to amass a fortune on the backs of Polish Jewish workers, only to then spend that same fortune to save as many of those workers as possible.—Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times, 14 Dec. 2023 Blunt’s lengthier film résumé gives her an edge. Nominations: Blunt
SUPPORTING ACTOR
Robert Downey Jr.’s wily, ranging turn as Adm. Lewis Strauss, Oppenheimer’s antagonist, is essentially a second lead in the movie.—Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times, 13 Nov. 2023 Ian Sweet: Sucker [Polyvinyl] Sucker, the fourth album from wily pop and indie-rock artist Ian Sweet, injects the songwriter’s self-scrutinizing lyrics with soaring melodies expand upon every element of her diverse catalog.—Allison Hussey, Pitchfork, 3 Nov. 2023 Finally, a wily coyote has airport security running in circles in Los Angeles.—CNN, 31 Oct. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'wily.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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