Synonyms of sly

sly 1 of 2

adjective

1

as in cunning

clever at attaining one's ends by indirect and often deceptive means

the movie pairs a sly, dissembling ex-con with an upstanding, straight-arrow cop

Synonyms & Similar Words

• cunning
• cute
• subtle
• slick
• deceptive
• wily
• shrewd
• fraudulent
• dishonest
• devious
• artful
• treacherous
• crooked
• scheming
• crafty
• beguiling
• cagey
• foxy
• guileful
• tricky
• designing
• deceitful
• cagy
• dodgy
• shady
• slippery
• sharp
• calculating
• astute
• sneaky
• covert
• glib
• unscrupulous
• oblique
• clandestine
• underhanded
• shifty
• undercover
• Machiavellian
• plotting
• facile
• knavish
• underhand
• hypocritical
• circular
• surreptitious
• secret
• serpentine
• insincere
• backhanded
• furtive
• roundabout
• concealed
• circuitous
• stealthy
• insinuating
• two-faced
• smooth-tongued
• mealy
• double-dealing
• mealymouthed
• left-handed
• hugger-mugger

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• ingenuous
• guileless
• artless
• innocent
• obvious
• plain
• public
• simple
• real
• frank
• direct
• open
• candid
• forthright
• sincere
• honest
• straightforward
• outspoken
• unconcealed
• unaffected
• unpretentious
• natural
• patent
• childlike
• unsophisticated
• unvarnished
• unpretending
• impressionable
• aboveboard
• simpleminded
• unworldly
• undesigning
• plainspoken
• unstudied
• unforced
• trustful
• trusting

2

as in shady

given to acting in secret and to concealing one's intentions

why, you sly fellow! I had no idea you were planning my birthday party

a sly undercover police officer

Synonyms & Similar Words

• shady
• sneaky
• furtive
• stealthy
• shifty
• cunning
• slippery
• cheating
• dark
• crooked
• sneaking
• deceptive
• wily
• clandestine
• slick
• secretive
• devious
• treacherous
• artful
• crafty
• close
• foxy
• guileful
• dishonest
• covert
• deceitful
• lying
• underhanded
• duplicitous
• tricky
• insidious
• underhand
• reticent
• deceiving
• mendacious
• perfidious
• untrustworthy
• closemouthed
• knavish
• untruthful
• serpentine
• two-faced
• trickish
• dissembling
• double-dealing
• defrauding

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• forthright
• straightforward
• direct
• frank
• candid
• plain
• open
• plainspoken
• honest
• aboveboard
• truthful
• trustworthy
• foursquare

3

as in mischievous

tending to or exhibiting reckless playfulness

a sly sense of humor

Synonyms & Similar Words

• mischievous
• wicked
• playful
• impish
• waggish
• roguish
• prankish
• knavish
• puckish
• tricksy
• rascally
• devilish
• pixy
• naughty
• pixie
• cunning
• pixieish
• elvish
• happy
• coy
• arch
• scampish
• wily
• whimsical
• teasing
• lighthearted
• lively
• espiègle
• frisky
• antic
• frolicsome
• leprechaunish
• kittenish
• sportful
• coltish
• sprightly
• sportive
• crafty
• spirited
• artful
• energetic
• tricky
• gay
• troublemaking
• trickish
• misbehaving
• pestering
• riling

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• solemn
• stern
• grim
• grave
• sober
• staid
• sedate

slyness

2 of 2

noun

as in subtlety

skill in achieving one's ends through indirect, subtle, or underhanded means

the slyness with which the FBI agent infiltrated the subversive organization without their knowledge was indeed impressive

Synonyms & Similar Words

• cunning
• subtlety
• deviousness
• artfulness
• guile
• sneakiness
• subtleness
• cunningness
• wiliness
• canniness
• slickness
• craftiness
• ease
• caginess
• craft
• artifice
• shrewdness
• cleverness
• cageyness
• calculation
• inventiveness
• foxiness
• guilefulness
• ingenuity
• design
• savvy
• care
• ingeniousness
• finesse
• duplicity
• sharpness
• underhandedness
• shiftiness
• deceitfulness
• facility