PAWKY Synonyms: 109 Similar and Opposite Words

pawky

adjective

Definition of pawky

chiefly British

as in cunning

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for pawky

Adjective

Consider, for instance, the institution of oprichnina that Tsar Ivan IV established in 1565, through various cunning moves.

— Foreign Affairs, Foreign Affairs, 18 Aug. 2026
With the correct number of dots, no arrangement, however cunning, can dodge these shapes forever.

— Jack Murtagh, Scientific American, 10 Aug. 2026

Definition of cunning

Adjective

But it was filled with quicksilver, roller-coaster displays of virtuosity and the sly humor Lutoslawski and fellow Polish composer and pianist Andrzej Panufnik brought to their Paganini variations in its original 1941 iteration.

— George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Aug. 2026
The Professional is a sly inversion of — and indulgent celebration of — action cliches, made at a time when action movies were ubiquitous but often redundant, featuring a succession of distinctly European stars like Schwarzenegger and Van Damme.

— Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of sly

Adjective

Clinicians found real value in cases involving subtle fractures in the knees, feet and other extremities, where conventional X-ray findings were inconclusive or missed the fracture altogether.

— Erez Meltzer, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026
Then there are the subtle vanilla notes like those found in Orb Oils’s Lenny fragrance, matcha in Le Labo’s, or, say, Flamingo Estate’s Prinsesstårta roll-on captures notes of marzipan like a slice of Sant Ambroeus Princess cake.

— Arden Fanning Andrews, Vogue, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of subtle

Adjective

After experimenting with several positions, Valenzuela eventually found a perfect place at left tackle for the Bulldogs and developed a shrewd sense of how much depended on that.

— Steve Millar, Chicago Tribune, 19 Aug. 2026
Former player and shrewd executive Jerry West helped build the Lakers’ rosters, Pat Riley blossomed into an elite coach, and stars Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar led a collection of elite playmakers during the Showtime era.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of shrewd

Adjective

Bruno Guimaraes and Lucas Paqueta played guileful defence-splitting passes.

— James Horncastle, New York Times, 20 June 2026
One is to emphasize Iago—the guileful, insinuating convincingness of this malicious supervillain, who works on Othello to the point where any reasonable man would be deceived and fooled and worked into a rage that can lead to such a catastrophe.

— David Frum, The Atlantic, 17 June 2026

Definition of guileful

Adjective

There is too much going on here for this novel to work, but Andersen is an uncommon writer, a skilled historical novelist as well as an astute cultural observer and historical interpreter.

— John Warner, Chicago Tribune, 15 Aug. 2026
Brown is clearly an empath who can read people in an astute way.

— Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 13 Aug. 2026

Definition of astute

Adjective

Of the millions of men and women who have made their mark here, few were as prolific and artful as Edgar Miller, even though most of you have never heard of him.

— Rick Kogan, Chicago Tribune, 19 Aug. 2026
Within it there are offices, factories, warehouses, photography studios, design departments, ateliers, a logistics center, showrooms complete with artful storefronts—all designed to fulfill desires at lightning speed.

— Gaby Wood, Vogue, 17 Aug. 2026

Definition of artful

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Browse Nearby Words

pawing

pawky

pawn

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“Pawky.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pawky. Accessed 25 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of pawky

adjective

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