canny

adjective

can·ny | \ ˈka-nē

cannier; canniest

Definition of canny

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : clever, shrewd a canny lawyer also : prudent canny investments

2 chiefly Scotland

a : careful, steady also : restrained

b : quiet, snug then canny, in some cozy place, they close the day— Robert Burns

canny

adverb

Definition of canny (Entry 2 of 2)

Scotland

: in a canny manner : carefully

Other Words from canny Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about canny

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Examples of canny in a Sentence

Adjective

a canny card player, good at psyching out his opponents warm and canny under the woolen bedcovers, we didn't mind the chilly Scottish nights

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

Beyond that, the acquisition now looks particularly canny for one big reason: the Saks building on Fifth Avenue. — Joshua Levine, WSJ, "Saks Doubles Down on Department Stores With New Restaurant in New York City," 15 Jan. 2019 So too with Alexander’s own actions and decisions, some wise and canny, others reckless and cruel. — James Romm, WSJ, "‘Soldier, Priest, and God’ Review: The Emperor Divine," 13 Dec. 2018 But Haley’s policy approach was particularly canny. — Zack Beauchamp, Vox, "How Nikki Haley played the White House game — and won," 9 Oct. 2018 Cheeky, importunate and canny, Ms. Jordan’s voice is one of the great standard-bearing instruments of midcentury jazz. — New York Times, "Pop, Rock and Jazz in NYC This Week," 8 Feb. 2018 However, the canny politician did hold off on announcing his position until Republicans had already locked down the 50 votes Kavanaugh needed. — Andrew Prokop, Vox, "Joe Manchin reelected in West Virginia: the most conservative Senate Democrat survives," 7 Nov. 2018 But Bezos’ moral awakening is also a canny political move. — Makena Kelly, The Verge, "Amazon’s triumphant pay raise is also a political play," 3 Oct. 2018 For years, that has been a useful solution to the thorny problem of online identity – and a canny strategy for Facebook to lock users in to its broader ecosystem. — David Z. Morris, Fortune, "How to Delete Your Facebook Account – And Why It’s So Hard to Do," 24 Mar. 2018 But in a recent piece on women and true crime, Cammila Collar finds canny parallels between the recurrent subjects of true crime (love-gone-wrong, family conflict, domestic violence) and the hard numbers on gender and violence. — Megan Abbott, latimes.com, "Why do we — women in particular — love true crime books?," 14 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'canny.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.