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

The cowardly, devious Turgeniev has assimilated to the comforts of the West —that alone is enough for Fyodor to detest him. — Carlos Aguilar, Variety, 5 Sep. 2026

The plot involves two sons of rich, miserly fathers in love with girls their fathers will never approve of and what happens when the fathers’ devious servants decide to give the boys a hand. — Lonnie Burstein Hewitt, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 July 2026

One by one, suitors including the devious Antinous (Robert Pattinson) fail at the challenge, until Odysseus volunteers and succeeds with ease. — Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 18 July 2026

The series, which ended in 2007, also starred Nancy Sullivan and Jonathan Goldstein as Drake's mom and Josh's dad, respectively, and Miranda Cosgrove as Drake's devious younger sister Megan. — Victoria Edel, PEOPLE, 29 June 2026

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!