cannily

adverb

Definition of cannilynext
as in artfully

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of cannily The idea might seem clever, as if the artist has cannily illustrated how the lovey-dovey notion of romance and family is hokey, brain-dead, false. — Carlos Valladares, ARTnews.com, 11 Sep. 2026 In her depiction of the exhausting vigilance this reality required, through a second-person voice cannily implicating her reader, Rankine created a new language to identify a problem as old as the United States. — Charles Finch, The Atlantic, 28 Aug. 2026 Shein, which built its empire—seemingly overnight—on $5 tops and $10 dresses that cannily kept pace with rapidly shifting trends, did not respond to a request for comment. — Jasmin Malik Chua, Footwear News, 25 Aug. 2026 Really entertaining, popular movies that are very cannily done. — Damon Wise, Deadline, 17 Aug. 2026 The film cannily tugs on the heartstrings, pulls off classic slapstick comedy and sneaks obscure film references into its visuals. — David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 12 Aug. 2026 Sections of the granite supports of the Keck statue are cannily manipulated and embellished with stars and swirling vortex-forms in Lithichrome paint into works of art themselves. — Horace D. Ballard, Artforum, 22 Apr. 2026 So begins a cycle of financial pressure, entrepreneurial hurdles, and major crimes committed out of desperation that cannily blurs the line between legitimate business strategy and the art of the con. — Judy Berman, Time, 11 Mar. 2026 His presence is so recessive that the resulting footage, however cannily composed, looks, for the most part, like it was made by an unattended surveillance camera. — Richard Brody, New Yorker, 19 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cannily
  1. artfully
  2. falsely
  3. deceptively
  4. dishonestly
  5. deceitfully
  6. artificially
Adverb
  • In the exclusive first-look clip above, O’Connor artfully grapples with his longing to return to music, hugging a past version of himself playing the violin as his face bleeds from a boxing injury.
    — Ellise Shafer, Variety, 28 Oct. 2026
  • High school student Bella Dubrovsky beamed proudly next to her tray of artfully frosted sugar cookies.
    — Laina Gustafson, Christian Science Monitor, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of artfully
Adverb
  • Opponents falsely claimed the bill targeted agriculture broadly, although it was tailored strictly to dog-breeding operations.
    — Jack Harvel, Kansas City Star, 7 Nov. 2026
  • It was falsely reported that a police officer was among the dead, according to Krakow police.
    — Bailey Richards, PEOPLE, 7 Nov. 2026
Definition of falsely
Adverb
  • Brown Butter Apricot Bars These deceptively delicious bar cookies deliver the perfect, rich balance of sweet-tart fruit and buttery pastry.
    — Ginger Crichton, Midwest Living, 29 Oct. 2026
  • Cyclical stocks tend to look expensive as earnings fall at the bottom of a cycle and deceptively cheap at the top.
    — Sebastien Chasse, CNBC, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of deceptively
Adverb
  • This critical and necessary dialogue is then dishonestly framed as being anti-Israel.
    — Jack Dunn, Variety, 22 Aug. 2026
  • In that lawsuit, State Farm said that the record only showed a disagreement over the cause of roof damage, and that there was no evidence the company had acted dishonestly.
    — Michael Copley, NPR, 28 Apr. 2026
Definition of dishonestly
Adverb
  • Jacob goes to Isaac with this hairy disguise, deceitfully announces himself as Esau, and obtains his father’s blessing—much to the chagrin of his brother.
    — Charles Preston, Encyclopedia Britannica, 13 Mar. 2026
  • To help fill their coffers even more, the lobbyists deceitfully expanded the definition of those notch years to include everyone born through 1926.
    — Tom Margenau, Dallas Morning News, 1 Feb. 2026
Definition of deceitfully
Adverb
  • The law requires providers of systems generating synthetic audio, images, video, or text to mark outputs in a machine-readable format so they can be detected as artificially generated or manipulated.
    — IEEE Spectrum, IEEE Spectrum, 5 Nov. 2026
  • That could skew the dataset, potentially making CTE rates appear artificially high.
    — Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of artificially

Browse Nearby Words

cannikins
cannily
canniness
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Cite this Entry

“Cannily.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cannily. Accessed 11 Nov. 2026.

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