as in artfully
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Recent Examples of cannily
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
The special’s opening half-hour is a series of meaningful opening salvos like this, cannily shoehorned into catch-up anecdotes, each of them laying the groundwork for where Nanjiani ultimately wants the hour to land without tipping his hand in one direction or another.
—Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 19 Dec. 2025
Although that self-realization is timeless, Roder cannily positions it to speak to contemporary times.
—Stephen Saito, Variety, 23 Nov. 2025
Rental Family cannily exploits its unusual premise to both comical and moving effect.
—Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
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
The special’s opening half-hour is a series of meaningful opening salvos like this, cannily shoehorned into catch-up anecdotes, each of them laying the groundwork for where Nanjiani ultimately wants the hour to land without tipping his hand in one direction or another.
—Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 19 Dec. 2025
Although that self-realization is timeless, Roder cannily positions it to speak to contemporary times.
—Stephen Saito, Variety, 23 Nov. 2025
Rental Family cannily exploits its unusual premise to both comical and moving effect.
—Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cannily
Adverb
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Tradition and the present are artfully combined here.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
23 Apr. 2026
-
It had been artfully arranged, staged in a marble vase.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
14 Apr. 2026
Adverb
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Scammers call older people, falsely claiming the victim’s bank account, Social Security number or other personal information has been compromised, Sorrells said.—
Emerson Clarridge,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
25 Apr. 2026
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All deliver explicit pornography and, in at least one case, a scam site falsely claiming a visitor’s computer is infected and advising the visitor to pay a fee for the non-existent malware to be removed.—
Dan Goodin,
ArsTechnica,
24 Apr. 2026
Adverb
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As a result, the plaintiffs alleged that Capital One deceptively marketed the 360 Savings account and concealed interest rate disparities.—
Melina Khan,
USA Today,
23 Apr. 2026
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Orta also showed fabrics with an open construction that have a deceptively heavy look and sateen fabrics with a compact feel and brushed back for softness.—
Angela Velasquez,
Footwear News,
22 Apr. 2026
Adverb
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Additional uses of geolocation data, the providers say, include proving a bettor is dishonestly disputing credit card charges, revealing sign-up bonus abuse or showing that someone is illegally making proxy wagers across state lines.—
Dan Bernstein,
Sportico.com,
16 Oct. 2025
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As naive as that may sound in a world where so many self-evident rights and wrongs are being routinely, dishonestly evaluated and reevaluated, the series elevates simple truths in ways that are downright inspirational.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
4 Aug. 2025
Adverb
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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
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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
Adverb
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The big takeaway is that the cremation rate may be artificially inflated because of limitations on awareness, availability and legal access to greener alternatives.—
Tanya D. Marsh,
The Conversation,
24 Apr. 2026
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The filing is part of California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s 2022 antitrust lawsuit alleging Amazon artificially inflated product prices to protect its profit margins.—
Spencer Soper,
Bloomberg,
20 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cannily.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cannily. Accessed 30 Apr. 2026.
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