pawky

adjective

Definition of pawkynext
chiefly British
as in cunning

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for pawky
  1. cunning
  2. sly
  3. wily
  4. subtle
  5. shrewd
  6. guileful
  7. astute
  8. artful
Adjective
  • Prince John is the cunning younger son of King Henry II whose ambition and shifting loyalties intensify the kingdom’s growing power struggle.
    — Denise Petski, Deadline, 29 July 2026
  • Booboo Stewart’s Jay was brought up to be a cunning thief, just like his father Jafar.
    — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 25 July 2026
Definition of cunning
Adjective
  • The past-present juxtapositions—of bodies, circumstances, attitudes, and even film stock—made for a sly and poignant ode to (or lament over) time’s passage.
    — Nick Paumgarten, New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2026
  • The camera is in position to see Cena’s sly smile and taps on Gunther’s forearm just so.
    — Darren Cooper, Forbes.com, 23 July 2026
Definition of sly
Adjective
  • A couple of hours later, Learner Tien lost to wily French veteran Adrian Mannarino.
    — Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 1 Aug. 2026
  • Almost two decades ago in Germany, a particularly wily octopus named Otto short-circuited his aquarium’s electrical system by shooting jets of water at an overhead light that perhaps caused an objectionable glare.
    — Cody Cottier, Scientific American, 29 July 2026
Definition of wily
Adjective
  • The herbal shiso adds a subtle savory depth, delivering a clean, refreshing balance to the textures and flavor.
    — Angela Hansberger, AJC.com, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Ask someone to review a two-hour video and identify subtle violations, and they are almost guaranteed to miss something.
    — Tal Lev-Ami, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of subtle
Adjective
  • Through the process, the girls not only become shrewd salespeople but gain confidence and sometimes even stand up to better the rights of their troops.
    — Randy Myers, Mercury News, 5 Aug. 2026
  • With their postseason odds still well below 50 percent, opting to replenish a shallow farm system might have been the shrewdest move.
    — Dennis Lin, New York Times, 4 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
  • But certain guessers are surprisingly astute in ways that are mesmerizing to watch and occasionally informative.
    — Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 28 July 2026
  • Both thrived on the back of excellent recruitment and astute coaching, but now comes the challenge of backing it up.
    — Philip Buckingham, New York Times, 22 July 2026
Definition of astute
Adjective
  • The spacious restaurant with high, coffered ceilings features a central bar where mixologists churn out artful cocktails.
    — Sean Timberlake, Sacbee.com, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Berry also shared an artful reflection photographed through a glass window.
    — Danielle Minnetian, FOXNews.com, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of artful
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.

Browse Nearby Words

pawing
pawky
pawn
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Cite this Entry

“Pawky.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pawky. Accessed 10 Aug. 2026.

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