1
as in cunning
skill in achieving one's ends through indirect, subtle, or underhanded means
it did not take an incredible amount of foxiness on his part to get you to spill the beans
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in deceptiveness
the inclination or practice of misleading others through lies or trickery
an imposter of such formidable foxiness that a movie was made of his entertaining escapades
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in intelligence
exceptional discernment and judgment especially in practical matters
lacks the foxiness needed to make it in dog-eat-dog world of show business
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for foxiness
Noun
-
Despite being outnumbered 50-to-1 by the Five Families of the Italian mafia, The Westies’ legendary brutality and cunning have given them the leverage necessary to share the spoils through a fragile détente.—
Denise Petski,
Deadline,
9 Sep. 2025 -
Luke Shaw’s technique and cunning at centre-back deserved to be better rewarded.—
Laurie Whitwell,
New York Times,
18 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
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
Noun
-
Managing and interpreting the flood of data would be impossible without machine intelligence.—
Bernard Marr,
Forbes.com,
12 Sep. 2025
-
Counterterrorism strategies must continue to adapt to meet this evolving battleground, leveraging not only military and intelligence tools but also public-private partnerships with tech platforms, AI monitoring, and global diplomacy.—
Richard Frankel,
ABC News,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The Uzbek defender does not deal in subtleties.—
Jordan Campbell,
New York Times,
15 Sep. 2025
-
Her ability to tease out the subtleties of millennial-speak led to over 25 million views and half a million followers.—
Kathryn VanArendonk,
Vulture,
15 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
But there’s some deception at play.—
Vann R. Newkirk II,
The Atlantic,
16 Sep. 2025
-
Stories of similar scenes are sweeping Puerto Rico—raids without court orders, marked by deception and racial profiling, often regardless of legal status.—
Israel Melendez Ayala,
Time,
16 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Sixteen-year-old Ray Garraty is about to compete in the annual grueling match of stamina and wits known as the Long Walk.—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
-
But will any of us fans still have our wits by then?—
Fabian Ardaya,
New York Times,
13 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
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
-
Many of the women who spoke Monday addressed that claim directly, saying they were tricked and coerced from the start and that the deceit went far beyond one lie about where the video would be distributed.—
Alex Riggins,
Mercury News,
9 Sep. 2025
-
The rest of the book is autobiographical, a love story between two writers, but also, a tale of deceit.—
Sarah Adler
September 8,
Literary Hub,
8 Sep. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Foxiness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/foxiness. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share