Synonyms of devious

devious

adjective

ˈdē-vē-əs 

1

as in cunning

clever at attaining one's ends by indirect and often deceptive means

we always left it to our most devious friends to find out the latest information

Synonyms & Similar Words

• cunning
• cute
• subtle
• slick
• fraudulent
• deceptive
• dishonest
• wily
• scheming
• treacherous
• sly
• crooked
• shrewd
• crafty
• artful
• guileful
• tricky
• designing
• beguiling
• deceitful
• cagey
• foxy
• shady
• dodgy
• slippery
• calculating
• unscrupulous
• sneaky
• Machiavellian
• astute
• underhanded
• sharp
• covert
• clandestine
• shifty
• plotting
• knavish
• underhand
• oblique
• glib
• undercover
• hypocritical
• serpentine
• circuitous
• circular
• insincere
• facile
• secret
• roundabout
• surreptitious
• stealthy
• furtive
• backhanded
• insinuating
• concealed
• two-faced
• mealy
• double-dealing
• smooth-tongued
• mealymouthed
• left-handed
• hugger-mugger

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• ingenuous
• innocent
• obvious
• guileless
• artless
• plain
• simple
• public
• real
• open
• sincere
• straightforward
• honest
• forthright
• outspoken
• direct
• frank
• natural
• candid
• unconcealed
• unsophisticated
• unpretentious
• unaffected
• childlike
• patent
• unvarnished
• aboveboard
• unpretending
• impressionable
• unworldly
• simpleminded
• undesigning
• unstudied
• plainspoken
• trusting
• unforced
• trustful

2

as in twisted

marked by a long series of irregular curves

a devious trail through the swampland

Synonyms & Similar Words

• twisted
• winding
• curved
• twisting
• curving
• serpentine
• crooked
• tortuous
• sinuous
• crazy
• windy
• bending
• curvy
• curled
• jagged
• curling
• circuitous
• coiled
• indirect
• spiral
• zigzag
• coiling
• uneven
• swirling
• spiraling
• circling
• roundabout
• looping
• zigzagging
• rambling
• wandering
• meandering
• corkscrew
• irregular

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• straight
• direct
• linear
• straightaway

3

as in unnatural

departing from some accepted standard of what is normal

her behavior is devious because of a developmental disorder

Synonyms & Similar Words

• unnatural
• abnormal
• unusual
• irregular
• deviant
• uncommon
• atypical
• anomalous
• aberrant
• odd
• extraordinary
• deviate
• untypical
• eccentric
• bizarre
• aberrational
• funny
• strange
• curious
• unconventional
• weird
• peculiar
• remarkable
• unrepresentative
• quirky
• wacky
• rare
• idiosyncratic
• kinky
• outlandish
• screwy
• quaint
• unwonted
• preternatural
• out-of-the-way
• freakish
• unorthodox
• outré
• wild
• queer
• way-out
• far-out
• nonconformist
• uncustomary
• queerish

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• typical
• normal
• natural
• regular
• common
• standard
• ordinary
• familiar
• usual
• commonplace
• routine
• everyday
• customary
• unremarkable
• characteristic
• run-of-the-mill
• unexceptional
• average
• archetypal
• workaday
• run-of-the-mine
• representative
• wonted

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of devious

Whatever Rip and Beth’s plans may be for the 10-Petal — and no matter how much Beulah seems to be onboard, for her own devious reasons — don’t expect the younger Jacksons to play along nicely. — Noel Murray, Vulture, 5 June 2026

Interruptions can also be undertaken by AI with a more devious intention. — Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 4 June 2026

Why so many charmers, devious or otherwise? — Anna Russell, New Yorker, 1 June 2026

The 21st century has yielded no shortage of stylish horror marbled with devious veins of pitch-dark humor — Peter Strickland’s In Fabric, Jennifer Kent’s The Babadook, Halina Reijn’s Bodies Bodies Bodies, Sam Raimi’s Drag Me to Hell, pretty much every Jordan Peele feature. — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 22 May 2026

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