tricky

adjective

ˈtri-kē 

trickier; trickiest

1

: inclined to or marked by trickery

2

a

: giving a deceptive impression of easiness, simplicity, or order : ticklish

a tricky path through the swamp

b

: trick sense 2

3

: requiring skill, knack, or caution (as in doing or handling) : difficult

a tricky problem

also : ingenious

a tricky rhythm

trickily

ˈtri-kə-lē 

adverb

trickiness

ˈtri-kē-nəs 

noun

Synonyms of tricky

• difficult
• tough
• sensitive
• problematic
• complicated

Choose the Right Synonym for tricky

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 tricky in a Sentence

The lock is tricky to open.

a tricky musical passage for the woodwind section

Recent Examples on the Web

The sheer size of the 150-acre stadium, Aitken said, as well as the baseball team’s running lease on the property, could make those conversations tricky. —Victoria Le, Oc Register, 3 Apr. 2026

Wartime news coverage is notoriously tricky. —Literary Hub, 3 Apr. 2026

The report eases one of the Fed’s trickiest dilemmas from the past year, when weak job growth put pressure on officials to cut rates even as inflation refused to come down. —Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 3 Apr. 2026

Even so, the fact that Simon was only given a year to officially fill the position and could have to vacate it at a tricky time in the program’s existence has staffers uneasy. —Brian Steinberg, Variety, 2 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1786, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for tricky

• dickie
• dicky
• hickey
• micky
• nicky
• picky
• quickie
• rickey
• sticky
• colicky

Kids Definition

tricky

adjective

ˈtrik-ē 

trickier; trickiest

1

: likely to use or characterized by tricks or trickery

2

: requiring skill or caution : difficult

a tricky situation