1
as in cunning
skill in achieving one's ends through indirect, subtle, or underhanded means
other antique dealers envied her for her craftiness in getting people to sell their treasures for a song
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in deception
the inclination or practice of misleading others through lies or trickery
according to the confidence man's credo of craftiness, "There's a sucker born every minute"
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for craftiness
Noun
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Maybe the mere fact of having been born illustrious, with no apparent faults, with nothing to prove or to be ashamed of, had liberated John from the resentments the rest of us feel, and from the cunning and ambition such resentments fuel.—
Jeffrey Eugenides,
New Yorker,
4 Apr. 2026 -
The Brazil international combines technical craft with a decisive cunning.—
Carl Anka,
New York Times,
21 Mar. 2026
Noun
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At the same time, the CIA mounted a deception operation to mislead Iranians who also were trying to find him.—
Jonathan J. Cooper,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Apr. 2026
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As an investigation unfolds, one small lie grows into a web of deception that begins to affect her work, her family, and her sense of self.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Mike Bowman, designer, furniture industry expert, and director of marketing for Harmonia Living, says this trend relies on furnishings to bring artfulness to a space—rather than just functionality.—
Patricia Shannon,
Better Homes & Gardens,
10 Jan. 2026
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There is a real seriousness to the score — the scheming bad-guy music has the artfulness of Prokofiev, and even the sneaking-around cues have musical integrity and structure.—
Tim Greiving,
Vulture,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Consider this evilmeister’s brazen acts of treason and revenge, unbounded deceit, swinish immorality and negative role modeling.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
5 Apr. 2026
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Taking someone’s money by deceit is generally not allowed, and the misrepresentations contained in the contract could serve as proof of the alleged fraud.—
Robert L. Boone,
Sportico.com,
31 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The move has allowed Brind’Amour to load up his top line with Andrei Svechnikov and Seth Jarvis on Aho’s wing, while Hall has brought size and veteran guile to the second line with Stankoven and Blake.—
Cory Lavalette,
New York Times,
21 Mar. 2026
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In other districts, however, the wealthy pastoralists managed by guile and financial manipulation to evade the land acts, and very many of them acquired freeholds to large estates at low prices, especially in the fertile Western District.—
Britannica Editors,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
19 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Of course, the retort is that this would be irritating and exasperating to be continually deluged with alerts about AI deceptiveness.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
24 Aug. 2025
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Beyond the deceptiveness of the narrow material view, spiritual light and hope are always present to be found and felt.—
Sue Brightman,
Christian Science Monitor,
3 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Space agency officials’ blood pressure was further elevated as experts closely watched the performance of the craft’s heat shield, which astronauts rely on to slow them down and keep temperatures livable.—
Noah Haggerty,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Apr. 2026
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When his friend David Rodriguez opened Union Beer Store in Little Havana in 2017, Castro became its marketing manager, and started replaying old matches and pay-per-view shows on repeat at the craft-beer bar.—
Phillip Valys,
Sun Sentinel,
11 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Perfidy — from the French perfidie via the Latin perfidia — means deceitfulness, treachery or a breach of faith or promise.—
Harmeet Kaur,
CNN Money,
21 Jan. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Craftiness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/craftiness. Accessed 13 Apr. 2026.
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