as in artfully
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Recent Examples of cannily
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
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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As Puerto Rico’s hometown hero Bad Bunny artfully observed in his recent Super Bowl performance, the island’s grid is in tatters, and has been for years.—
Tim McDonnell,
semafor.com,
23 Mar. 2026
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Although the bowls are often artfully arranged, this version is casual, with steamed vegetables added atop the rice in a higgledy-piggledy array.—
Cathy Thomas,
Oc Register,
16 Mar. 2026
Adverb
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Leike sent a message urging him not to falsely suggest that the effort had been approved.—
Ronan Farrow,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2026
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Wilson countersued, claiming Georgia is trying to penalize him for his decision to transfer and alleging that Georgia staffers falsely told multiple unnamed Power 4 programs that information.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
6 Apr. 2026
Adverb
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These plinking, whimsical ditties—each song lasts but a minute or two at most— are evocative in their simplicity, but deceptively rich in texture.—
Sam Goldner,
Pitchfork,
2 Apr. 2026
-
The image, shared to Reddit in December 2025 under u/highlyregardedcarp, showed Atlas mid-nap—calm, with his large paws stretched out and deceptively serene.—
Melissa Fleur Afshar,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 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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In other words, the obvious consequences of artificially boosting worker pay beyond market rates came to pass.—
Editorial,
Boston Herald,
6 Apr. 2026
-
This includes the sobering reality that artificially fabricated strands can be blended into the bunch, that not all human hair is created equal, and most hair does not all originate from the same donor or arrive in the same caliber of quality.—
Noel Cymone Walker,
StyleCaster,
1 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cannily.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cannily. Accessed 8 Apr. 2026.
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