INSIDIOUSLY Synonyms: 47 Similar and Opposite Words

insidiously

adverb

as in cunningly

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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.

Recent Examples of insidiously The film is certainly casting a spell, and whether or not that’s simply cynical (and insidiously effective) marketing doesn’t much matter when you’re caught up in it. — Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 5 Sep. 2026 In the American West, where playing dress-up in reenactments and photo booths and even city streets is already so commonplace, this line of questioning is insidiously limited. — Téa Obreht, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Aug. 2026 Often nearly invisible to the naked eye, microplastics have insidiously found their way into people’s lungs, arterial plaques and brains through food, air and water, researchers have found. — Kate Nishimura, Footwear News, 7 Apr. 2026 His dramas set domestic conflicts against the backdrop of societal systems that insidiously warp the playing field for their characters. — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 1 Apr. 2026 The experiment is that AI is being made available nationally and globally, which is either overtly or insidiously acting to provide mental health guidance of one kind or another. — Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 27 Feb. 2026 The threats to our waters are insidiously obscured from sight. — Theodore J. Karamanski, Chicago Tribune, 6 Feb. 2026 There have been more egregious Hollywood glow-ups than that of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren in the Conjuring movies, but how many of those have also been so insidiously appealing? — Alison Willmore, Vulture, 4 Sep. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for insidiously

Adverb

Penelope remains faithful and rules Ithaca in his absence, cunningly stalling her suitors.

— Clare Mulroy, USA Today, 20 July 2026
But cunningly, in the years since 1945—and responsibly and rightly, too—the United States put together a system where most of the other strong countries were also friends.

— David Frum, The Atlantic, 8 Apr. 2026

Definition of cunningly

Adverb

Leather has had a slyly stylish moment in menswear over the past year, too, with the likes of Alexander Skarsgård and Pedro Pascal reaching for it in lieu of more conventional suiting.

— Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 24 Sep. 2026
But his profound reflections are punctuated by superb slapstick, slyly symbolic sleight-of-hand and, yes, some serious Shakespeare that make for an equally entertaining and thought-provoking hour.

— Jared Kaufman, Twin Cities, 13 Aug. 2026

Definition of slyly

Adverb

As the only standalone English track of the album, its lyrics speak of a situationship so suspended in uncertainty that Selines craftily matched it with the sonic sensation of floating into outer space.

— Andrea Flores, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2026
Some players struggled against the size of bigger and stronger players, while others craftily created space with deft footwork and manipulation.

— Devin Robertson, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Aug. 2025

Definition of craftily

Adverb

Charlottesville has become more Democratic, while rural areas have moved sharply toward Republicans.

— Barnini Chakraborty, The Washington Examiner, 30 Sep. 2026
Once the company and its shareholders become accustomed to such a financial boost, an environment where individual guest spending sharply increases even when domestic park attendance is soft or steady, there’s likely no turning back.

— Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 29 Sep. 2026

Definition of sharply

Adverb

There are cities where rats are glimpsed at night, furtively scurrying into a dark corner or among the train tracks.

— David A. Graham, The Atlantic, 18 Sep. 2026
Jordan may wish to exact revenge, and Eddy may want to find one of the victims who has vanished, but both have to go about their work furtively.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of furtively

Adverb

That virtue is undermined here by leads with minimal chemistry, one of them inexpressive and the other archly theatrical, by design if not to rewarding effect.

— David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 21 May 2026
The show, which followed a crooked New Mexican lawyer, played by Bob Odenkirk, was an archly funny drama, shot partly in gritty black-and-white.

— Rachel Syme, New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2025

Definition of archly

Adverb

The textural top was artfully contrasted by the skirt of the look, which included a bevy of bead work with tassels to boot.

— Julia Teti, Footwear News, 30 Sep. 2026
And Mylette Nora’s costumes artfully conjure both the underworld and the spiritual realm.

— Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 17 Sep. 2026

Definition of artfully

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“Insidiously.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/insidiously. Accessed 7 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of insidiously

adverb

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