1
as in cunning
skill in achieving one's ends through indirect, subtle, or underhanded means
a shady salesman who usually relies on a combination of quick thinking and guile
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in deception
the inclination or practice of misleading others through lies or trickery
a person so full of guile he can't even be trusted to give you the correct time of day
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of guile
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
Matching Casey and Frank’s guile is Philomac’s untested self-confidence.
—Ritesh Mehta, IndieWire, 20 Feb. 2026
While the Heat have a variety of youthful options in their backcourt hierarchy ahead of Young, from the defensive guile of Davion Mitchell, to the youthful creativity of Kasparas Jakucionis, to the veteran steadiness of Dru Smith, Young is the type of speed guard rarely featured by the franchise.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 17 Feb. 2026
What was once done by indirection and guile is now carried with the high hand, in the face of day, at the mouth of the cannon and by the edge of the sabre of the nation.
—Jake Lundberg, The Atlantic, 12 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for guile
Britannica Editors, Encyclopedia Britannica, 19 Mar. 2026
Matching Casey and Frank’s guile is Philomac’s untested self-confidence.
—Ritesh Mehta, IndieWire, 20 Feb. 2026
While the Heat have a variety of youthful options in their backcourt hierarchy ahead of Young, from the defensive guile of Davion Mitchell, to the youthful creativity of Kasparas Jakucionis, to the veteran steadiness of Dru Smith, Young is the type of speed guard rarely featured by the franchise.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 17 Feb. 2026
What was once done by indirection and guile is now carried with the high hand, in the face of day, at the mouth of the cannon and by the edge of the sabre of the nation.
—Jake Lundberg, The Atlantic, 12 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for guile
Recent Examples of Synonyms for guile
Noun
-
Unable to outrun the Bitchfist, the Hand earns his reputation for cunning and courage.—
Amanda Whiting,
Vulture,
22 June 2026
-
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.—
Rosy Cordero,
Deadline,
17 June 2026
Noun
-
But the dramatic vision-boosting reputation carrots have carried for decades traces back to a wartime deception, not science.—
Samantha Agate,
Sacbee.com,
15 June 2026
-
The deception group reported the steepest drop in symptoms.—
Samantha Agate,
Kansas City Star,
13 June 2026
Noun
-
The shows tackle stories about murder, deceit, grief, familial estrangement, presidential assassinations, and complex mental health diagnoses — and all have found captive audiences on the streamer over the last year.—
Katie Campione,
Deadline,
28 May 2026
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In each new place, Charlie pretends to be Layla, hoping to ensnare an unsuspecting Stanley into his web of deceit.—
Nicole Briese,
PEOPLE,
28 May 2026
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
-
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
-
Antisocial personality includes a persistent pattern of traits such as callousness, lack of concern, deceitfulness, and irresponsibility, Ryan said.—
Harriet Ramos,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
29 Apr. 2026
-
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
Noun
-
Rollins said federal authorities have made 900 arrests for SNAP fraud during the last year and recovered $132 million in restitution.—
Bart Jansen,
USA Today,
19 June 2026
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The future involves building robust connectors between merchant systems and UCP, and developing new solutions for agent identity and fraud detection.—
Josipa Majic Predin,
Forbes.com,
19 June 2026
Noun
-
Other research on high school cheating found in 2020 that 64% of 70,000 high school students across the country admitted to cheating on a test, and 58% admitted to plagiarism.—
Austin Sarat,
The Conversation,
17 June 2026
-
Whatever romance Rodrigo is tracing the history of apparently did not end in cheating or any other horrible behavior that would lead her back toward the kind of recriminatory rockers that were among the previous albums’ highlights.—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
12 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Guile.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/guile. Accessed 22 Jun. 2026.
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