1
as in cunning
clever at attaining one's ends by indirect and often deceptive means
tried to fix the game with a guileful plot to sabotage the other team's bats, but the umpire caught them
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in deceptive
given to or marked by cheating and deception
received a guileful answer when I asked the dealer if the used car had ever been in a collision
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for guileful
Adjective
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In state media comedy shows, jokes about Putin are told from time to time, but they are used to bolster his image as a powerful, cunning leader, and hold up Russia as a great country.—
Neringa Klumbytė,
The Conversation,
4 Mar. 2026 -
These ambitious, cunning, and often amoral Cold War operatives were usually marginal or even inconsequential figures at home.—
Alfred McCoy,
Literary Hub,
26 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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On March 24, the jury found that Meta had violated the state’s consumer protection law by knowingly engaging in an unfair or deceptive trade practice.—
Diana Novak Jones,
USA Today,
25 Mar. 2026
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Admittedly, Palace’s results had been rather deceptive.—
Matt Woosnam,
New York Times,
25 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Marvin’s a cute little mushroom living in a cozy home beneath a mighty cedar tree.—
Mary Ann Grossmann,
Twin Cities,
28 Mar. 2026
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Dry off and look cute at the same time with Katydid beach or gym towels.—
Tory Johnson,
ABC News,
28 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Cherfilus-McCormick is charged with 15 counts, including theft of government funds, money laundering, making and receiving straw donor contributions, and aiding and assisting the preparation of a false and fraudulent statement on a tax return.—
Caitlin Yilek,
CBS News,
26 Mar. 2026
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Both men sold drugs to fund their fraudulent transactions, prosecutors said.—
Julia Coin,
Charlotte Observer,
26 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Even though researchers have found no evidence that contemporary populations use one hemisphere of the brain any more than the other, every part of this picture is presented with slick confidence.—
Becca Rothfeld,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
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With water constantly dripping from above, the surface was slick and unstable.—
Brit McCandless Farmer,
CBS News,
29 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Past grand juries have issued reports raising awareness of shady land deals, questionable legislative appropriations and officials slow-walking public records requests.—
Alexandra Glorioso,
Miami Herald,
26 Mar. 2026
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The bill would force bettors to cough up any profits from shady transactions along with a 10% fine, according to Politico, which first reported the new legislation.—
Dave Goldiner,
New York Daily News,
25 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Interestingly, the wristband could accurately predict a wide array of hand positions, from 26 letters of complex American Sign Language signs to the subtle grips required for holding scissors, a tennis ball, or a pencil.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
25 Mar. 2026
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Mouth breathers tend to carry their head forward to open the airway, a subtle shift that can become its own habitual pattern.—
Allison Palmer,
Miami Herald,
25 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Until then, smuggling weed had been a grand adventure, an escape from a society that had just thrown Prager’s generation into a meat grinder in Vietnam, a repudiation of the crooked politicians and backward preachers and greedy capitalists who were running the world.—
Jack Crosbie,
Rolling Stone,
17 Mar. 2026
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For the most part, this lineup, chock full of All-Stars and Hall of Famers, has struggled to put up crooked numbers.—
Johnny Flores Jr,
New York Times,
17 Mar. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Guileful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/guileful. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
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