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

But Semones is too wily of a musician to let that ride for the entire song. —Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 2 Dec. 2025

As the house band slips into a bluesy vamp, the family members leave the stage, but Guy remains, and the reserved, elderly gentleman at the bar transforms into the wily, suggestive Buddy Guy of legend. —David Browne, Rolling Stone, 30 Nov. 2025

Through cagey use of the voiceover, Casino becomes a wily and cynical yet decidedly reverential glimpse at the way things really get done in a wide- open urban setting. —Duane Byrge, HollywoodReporter, 22 Nov. 2025

Fellow comedy legend Reiner, who played the wily Saul Bloom, died in June 2020 at age 98 from natural causes. —Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 11 Nov. 2025

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