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
  • Sing, muse, of the cunning Christopher Nolan, who has once again achieved the impossible.
    — Hillary Busis, Vanity Fair, 19 July 2026
  • In the classic tradition, this bit of strategic genius is the ultimate proof of Odysseus’s mētis, or cunning intelligence.
    — Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 17 July 2026
Definition of cunning
Adjective
  • 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
  • Indeed, Grozeva and Valchanov’s sly ability to shift tones from ripely comical to appalling is one of their defining features as filmmakers, along with a penchant for weird and wacky side characters.
    — Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 14 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
  • Unsurprisingly, employees find both subtle and significant ways to reclaim their independence.
    — Kate Wieczorek, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026
  • To finish, the server will build a tableside Hong Kong Milk Tea Tiramisu, with milk tea mascarpone Chantilly cream and lady fingers, served with a cup of subtle Hong Kong milk tea.
    — Connie Ogle July 31, Miami Herald, 31 July 2026
Definition of subtle
Adjective
  • Circus Circus manages to turn a monthly profit of between $50,000 to $80,000 in the summer season through shrewd tactics, including using unordered prime rib from the hotel’s steakhouse in a buffet stew, the Journal revealed.
    — Teresa Mull, FOXNews.com, 25 July 2026
  • Project 2025, produced by the Heritage Foundation, was more shrewd.
    — Marc Novicoff, The Atlantic, 24 July 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
  • 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
  • As an astute student of soul, Jasmine Rose Wilson has identified a common thread tying together all the different permutations of the music.
    — Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Pitchfork, 14 July 2026
Definition of astute
Adjective
  • The Thomas Crown Affair isn’t the first time a character played by Jordan has an artful interaction.
    — Maximilíano Durón, ARTnews.com, 31 July 2026
  • The hotel’s Art of Discovery experience (rates starting at $375) takes guests on an artful journey through its 700-piece global art collection, displayed throughout the building.
    — Maya Kachroo-Levine, Travel + Leisure, 22 July 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 4 Aug. 2026.

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