as in cunningly
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Recent Examples of insidiously
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 threats to our waters are insidiously obscured from sight.
—Theodore J. Karamanski, Chicago Tribune, 6 Feb. 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, 30 Jan. 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
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 threats to our waters are insidiously obscured from sight.
—Theodore J. Karamanski, Chicago Tribune, 6 Feb. 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, 30 Jan. 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
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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
-
Instead of kings and queens cunningly maneuvering their armies against their enemies, there’s only an ox of a man and a bald little boy, neither of whom exhibits a clearly superior intellect.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
13 Jan. 2026
Adverb
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While noirs, of course, critique the crumbling American Dream, Rivera slyly comments on politics.—
Sammy Loren,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Mar. 2026
-
And Reilly is aces at playing aw-shucks-who-me innocence while Gary enjoys the best of both worlds, as his friend Eric slyly points out during a dinner party.—
Sheri Linden,
HollywoodReporter,
16 Mar. 2026
Adverb
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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
Adverb
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Big-hearted and sharply funny, Lucy Schulman is a charming comedic coming-of-age story from multihyphenate Tribeca alum Ellie Sachs.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
16 Apr. 2026
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Higher oil prices have sharply increased operating expenses for shipping firms, squeezing margins and forcing governments, including Hong Kong, to step in with temporary support.—
Lee Ying Shan,Emily Tan,
CNBC,
16 Apr. 2026
Adverb
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Unlike Monday's burial for Princess Irene, which follows a Saturday prayer service in Madrid and a funeral Monday at Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens, the Tatoi interment for Sofia's mother, Queen Federica of Greece, was not official, and took place almost furtively.—
Diego Parrado,
Vanity Fair,
18 Jan. 2026
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This has become the central theme of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City—probably the most chaotic show in its franchise—whose characters are always trying to root out which of their frenemies is furtively digging up dirt and spreading rumors about their legal or financial woes.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
5 Nov. 2025
Adverb
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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
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Much as Wes Anderson and Yorgos Lanthimos have plumbed Dafoe’s deliciously wicked sense of humor in pieces that straddle the line between the real and the archly stylized, Solnicki understands that a strong Dafoe performance must always teeter between the two.—
Manuel Betancourt,
Variety,
28 Sep. 2025
Adverb
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Reaching the island is all part of the fun too, requiring you to hop aboard a vintage, slickly varnished wooden boat at Balmaha and schedule a pick-up time for the way back.—
Rosie Conroy,
Condé Nast Traveler,
31 Mar. 2026
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Out with the clunky old 20th-century contractors making fighter jets, say Democrats and Republicans alike — and in with the venture-backed, slickly marketed, innovative new companies selling the silent drones, surveillance software, and cheap missiles of 21st-century combat.—
Ben Smith,
semafor.com,
3 Nov. 2025
Adverb
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It had been artfully arranged, staged in a marble vase.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
14 Apr. 2026
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Customers can also get a closer look at the espresso bar as baristas artfully whip up everything from a caramel macchiato to a cocoa cappuccino, with unobstructed views and new lighting above the pickup area.—
Robert Channick,
Chicago Tribune,
9 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Insidiously.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/insidiously. Accessed 20 Apr. 2026.
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