wily

adjective

ˈwī-lē 

wilier; wiliest

: full of wiles : crafty

a wily negotiator

wilily

ˈwī-lə-lē 

adverb

wiliness

ˈwī-lē-nəs 

noun

Synonyms of wily

• cunning
• cute
• slick

Choose the Right Synonym for wily

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 wily in a Sentence

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 Web

Uso was the wily veteran, a former world heavyweight champion, looking to get back into the title picture. — Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 20 June 2026

The wily right-hander held up the end of his bargain, but the Royals’ offense failed to support him. — Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 11 June 2026

Expect classics from the American songbook, wily new interpretations of contemporary pop songs, Broadway standards and lots of sweet between-song patter. — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 6 June 2026

Zinedine Zidane, the great French playmaker, headbutted Marco Materazzi, a wily Italian defender who had made a passing remark about Zidane’s sister. — Sam Knight, New Yorker, 1 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for wily

• dryly
• highly
• kiley
• shyly
• slyly
• smiley
• wryly

Kids Definition

wily

adjective

ˈwī-lē 

wilier; wiliest

: full of deceit : tricky

a wily opponent

wiliness noun