crafty

adjective

ˈkraf-tē 

craftier; craftiest

1

: skillful, clever

2

a

: adept in the use of subtlety and cunning

a crafty swindler

The crafty detective got the suspect to confess to the crime.

b

: marked by subtlety and guile

a crafty scheme

craftily

ˈkraf-tə-lē 

adverb

craftiness

ˈkraf-tē-nəs 

noun

Synonyms

• cunning
• cute

Choose the Right Synonym for crafty

sly, cunning, crafty, wily, tricky, foxy, artful, slick mean attaining or seeking to attain one's ends by guileful or devious means.

sly implies furtiveness, lack of candor, and skill in concealing one's aims and methods.

a sly corporate raider

cunning suggests the inventive use of sometimes limited intelligence in overreaching or circumventing.

the cunning fox avoided the trap

crafty implies cleverness and subtlety of method.

a crafty lefthander

wily implies skill and deception in maneuvering.

the wily fugitive escaped the posse

tricky is more likely to suggest shiftiness and unreliability than skill in deception and maneuvering.

a tricky political operative

foxy implies a shrewd and wary craftiness usually involving devious dealing.

a foxy publicity man planting stories

artful implies indirectness in dealing and often connotes sophistication or cleverness.

elicited the information by artful questioning

slick emphasizes smoothness and guile.

slick operators selling time-sharing

Examples of crafty in a Sentence

a crafty real estate broker who got people to sell their property at bargain prices

Recent Examples on the Web

Judge has been crafty on the base paths, recording 11 steals on 15 attempts. —Data Skrive, New York Times, 13 Sep. 2025

And then there’s Morton, who entered the game against the ChiSox sitting at 199 – nine more than fearsome lefty Randy Johnson, 13 more than crafty knuckleballer Tim Wakefield and 29 more than award namesake Cy Young – thanks to four HBPs as a Tiger. —Ryan Ford, Freep.com, 8 Sep. 2025

Her powerful score on August 28 gave her crafty conditioner enough confidence to run for a share of the $2 million purse present in the September 6 Light and Wonder Ladies Marathon. —Danny Brewer, Forbes.com, 7 Sep. 2025

Brown as the crafty Pauline is the true scene stealer, negotiating terms of terror herself. —Pete Hammond, Deadline, 6 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

see craft entry 1

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing crafty

• arty-crafty

Rhymes for crafty

• drafty

Kids Definition

crafty

adjective

ˈkraf-tē 

craftier; craftiest

: skillful at deceiving others

craftily

-tə-lē 

adverb

craftiness

-tē-nəs 

noun