cunning

adjective cun·ning \ ˈkə-niŋ \

Definition of cunning

1 :dexterous or crafty in the use of special resources (such as skill or knowledge) or in attaining an end

a cunning plotter

2 :displaying keen insight

a cunning observation

3 :characterized by wiliness and trickery

cunning schemes

4 :prettily appealing :cute

a cunning little kitten

—

cunningly

play \ˈkə-niŋ-lē\ adverb

—

cunningness

noun

See cunning defined for English-language learners

See cunning defined for kids

Examples of cunning in a Sentence

… this cat has made his way into the Fitness Center for cunning reasons of his own and reveals himself only to certain privileged individuals. —Joyce Carol Oates, Harper's, June 2008
Throughout his time hunting the vampire, Manolito had been wounded and poisoned on many occasions, but still he'd survived because he'd always used his brain. He was cunning and shrewd and very intelligent. —Christine Feehan, Dark Possession, 2007
I have recounted the advice I received from an old-timer about how to keep raccoons out of garbage cans—advice that eventually included the purchase of a combination lock. ("A raccoon's cunning, but he's got no head for figures.") —Calvin Trillin, New Yorker, 11 Oct. 1993
A cunning politician is often found skulking under the clerical robe, with an outside all religion, and an inside all political rancour. —Washington Irving, A History of New York, 1809, in History, Tales and Sketches, (1977) 1983
So the Leader went into his den and looked at his children—two very cunning little cubs, lying on the floor. —Hugh Lofting, The Story of Doctor Dolittle, 1920
She was cunning enough to fool me.
a cunning, underhanded plan to win the election by preying on people's fears and prejudices

Recent Examples of cunning from the Web

The Lady is less a wilting violet who learns to bloom than, as the title implies, a cunning murderess.

— charles taylor, MSNBC Newsweek, "Cannes' Favorite 'Lady Macbeth' Isn't Daring, but It Might Be Racist," 17 July 2017
Putin is a spymaster, a cunning analyst, a master manipulator and negotiator.

— jeff darcy, cleveland.com, "Trump Jr. email confirms collusion attempt: Darcy cartoon," 12 July 2017
Tap into your wilful, cunning side with the help of deep, dark Pluto and use it to your advantage.

— jodie layne, Allure, "What This Week's Horoscope Means for You," 9 July 2017
Hun Sen is one of Asia’s most cunning politicians, wielding either carrot or stick to coopt or vanquish his foes.

— vannarin neou, The Seattle Times, "Cambodian PM offers rival chance to return — and risk prison," 14 June 2017
Hun Sen is one of Asia’s most cunning politicians, wielding either carrot or stick to coopt or vanquish his foes.

— Washington Post, "Cambodian PM offers rival chance to return — and risk prison," 14 June 2017
Elizabeth Marvel makes Mark Anthony's speech the highlight of the show and a sharp warning about the modern breed of politicians for whom claiming to lack rhetorical cunning is the most cunning rhetorical strategy in the game.

— kate maltby, CNN, "Trump as Julius Caesar -- What could go wrong?," 12 June 2017
Otherwise, we might never have known how cunning our president is.

— dahleen glanton, chicagotribune.com, "Donald Trump is more cunning than we thought," 8 June 2017
Grand Moff Tarkin: Even a guy like Darth Vader has to answer to somebody, and in the original Star Wars there was nobody more ruthless or cunning than Tarkin.

— brian truitt, USA TODAY, "The 40 best movie characters in 40 years of 'Star Wars,' ranked," 24 May 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of cunning

Middle English, from present participle of can know

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

cunning Synonyms

Synonyms

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

Antonyms

artless, guileless, ingenuous, innocent, undesigning

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

Synonym Discussion of cunning

clever, adroit, cunning, ingenious mean having or showing practical wit or skill in contriving. clever stresses physical or mental quickness, deftness, or great aptitude.

- a person clever with horses

adroit often implies a skillful use of expedients to achieve one's purpose in spite of difficulties.

- an adroit negotiator

cunning implies great skill in constructing or creating.

- a filmmaker cunning in his use of special effects

ingenious suggests the power of inventing or discovering a new way of accomplishing something.

- an ingenious software engineer

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

cunning

noun cun·ning \ ˈkə-niŋ \

Definition of cunning

1 obsolete

a :knowledge, learning

b :magic art

2 :dexterous skill and subtlety (as in inventing, devising, or executing)

high-ribbed vault … with perfect cunning framed
—William Wordsworth

3 :craft, slyness

See cunning defined for English-language learners

Examples of cunning in a Sentence

The writing is best in the play's later scenes, when More deploys his legal cunning to help him weasel out of a political trap set by the oleaginous Thomas Cromwell … —John Lahr, New Yorker, 20 Oct. 2008
Tsvetaeva was lacking, moreover, in any instinct for cunning or self-preservation, or even for what might be called mere getting along … —Claudia Roth Pierpont, New Yorker, 7 Feb. 1994
He could see no change, save that in the eyes there was a look of cunning and in the mouth the curved wrinkle of the hypocrite. —Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, 1891
He may be a fraud, but you have to admire his cunning.
the cunning with which Tom Sawyer was able to get others to whitewash the fence for him

Origin and Etymology of cunning

see ¹cunning

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

cunning Synonyms

Synonyms

artfulness, artifice, caginess (also cageyness), canniness, craft, craftiness, cunningness, deviousness, foxiness, guile, guilefulness, slickness, slyness, sneakiness, subtleness, subtlety, wiliness

Antonyms

artlessness, ineptitude, ineptness, maladroitness

Related Words

calculation, care, design; savvy, sharpness, shrewdness; cleverness, ingeniousness, ingenuity, inventiveness; ease, facility, finesse; deceitfulness, duplicity, shiftiness, underhandedness

Near Antonyms

amateurishness, awkwardness, clumsiness, crudeness, klutziness, rudeness; inability, inadequacy, inadequateness, incapability, incapacity, incompetence, ineffectiveness, ineffectuality, ineffectualness, inefficacy, inefficiency

Synonym Discussion of cunning

art, skill, cunning, artifice, craft mean the faculty of executing well what one has devised. art implies a personal, unanalyzable creative power.

- the art of choosing the right word

skill stresses technical knowledge and proficiency.

- the skill of a glassblower

cunning suggests ingenuity and subtlety in devising, inventing, or executing.

- a mystery plotted with great cunning

artifice suggests technical skill especially in imitating things in nature.

- believed realism in film could be achieved only by artifice

craft may imply expertness in workmanship.

- the craft of a master goldsmith

CUNNING Defined for English Language Learners

cunning

adjective

Definition of cunning for English Language Learners

: getting what is wanted in a clever and often deceptive way

cunning

noun

Definition of cunning for English Language Learners

: cleverness or skill especially at tricking people in order to get something

CUNNING Defined for Kids

cunning

adjective cun·ning \ ˈkə-niŋ \

Definition of cunning for Students

1 :skillful and clever at using special knowledge or at getting something done

a cunning craftsman

2 :showing craftiness and trickery

a cunning plot

a cunning thief

cunning

noun

Definition of cunning for Students

1 :skill 1, dexterity

… they … felt the love of beautiful things made by hands and by cunning …
—J. R. R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

2 :cleverness or skill especially at tricking people in order to get something

… she had been defeated by the superior cunning of the aged witch …
—L. Frank Baum, The Marvelous Land of Oz

Learn More about cunning

See words that rhyme with cunning Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for cunning Spanish Central: Translation of cunning Nglish: Translation of cunning for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of cunning for Arabic speakers

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up cunning? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show

cunning

Definition of cunning

cunningly

cunningness

Read the Latest from M-W

Examples of cunning in a Sentence

Recent Examples of cunning from the Web

Origin and Etymology of cunning

cunning Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Related Words

Near Antonyms

Synonym Discussion of cunning

cunning

Definition of cunning

Examples of cunning in a Sentence

Origin and Etymology of cunning

cunning Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Related Words

Near Antonyms

Synonym Discussion of cunning

Phrases Related to CUNNING

Related Phrases

CUNNING Defined for English Language Learners

cunning

Definition of cunning for English Language Learners

cunning

Definition of cunning for English Language Learners

CUNNING Defined for Kids

cunning

Definition of cunning for Students

cunning

Definition of cunning for Students

Learn More about cunning

Seen and Heard

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games

Trending: McCain: Half-Baked, 'Spurious' Nationalism

'Spox' May Go On The Record

17 English Words that Come From Japanese

Forms of Government Quiz

Words of the Year: 1066