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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
  • But the heart of this story is the toxic years-long romance between Marjorie and her co-conspirator Bill Rothstein (David Harbour), an equally cunning player who was blinded by love.
    — Glenn Garner, Deadline, 14 Sep. 2026
  • Supporters of the administration view this back and forth as a cunning ploy to buy time for the United States to position itself more advantageously for a confrontation.
    — Leonard A. Schuette, Foreign Affairs, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of cunning
Adjective
  • Perhaps this saga of planetary conquest is also a sly commentary on Hollywood imperialism, in which even the most far-flung of small-town tales must be overwhelmed by big-name stars in visual-effects drag.
    — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2026
  • In a sly nod to the sort of rom-com conventions that this story has no time for, a dreamily handsome young concierge (Hadi Bou Ayash) comes to her rescue.
    — Sheri Linden, HollywoodReporter, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of sly
Adjective
  • The Braves have the edge, but the Phillies are always wily little villains.
    — AJ Willingham, AJC.com, 4 Sep. 2026
  • The wily, beguiling poems in this collection probe selves and stories as sites of rupture and refraction.
    — The New Yorker, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of wily
Adjective
  • Rey’s directing style keeps the spirit of Mumblecore cinema while bringing it into the immediate present, injecting subtle political commentary into naturalistic scenes.
    — Jourdain Searles, HollywoodReporter, 16 Sep. 2026
  • In other New York Fashion Week shows, like TWP and Proenza Schouler, fashion’s adjacent garden shoe trend took a more subtle approach.
    — Jaden Thompson, Footwear News, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of subtle
Adjective
  • This takes sharp eyes from above, intricate sideline dialogue and shrewd on-field adaptation.
    — Alec Lewis, New York Times, 16 Sep. 2026
  • The bursts of comedy don’t lighten the mood, but instead sharpen the emotion and clarify the intensity, the way a shrewd joke might at a funeral.
    — Natalia Winkelman, Variety, 16 Sep. 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
  • Rowland, as politically astute as any recording artist living in the United Kingdom, went on to form new bands, release solo music and drop albums as Dexys.
    — Lars Brandle, Billboard, 10 Sep. 2026
  • This tension is often subtext enough, and it’s accentuated by cinematographer Adric Watson’s tight and dirty frames, which confine Maya and Arti through astute visual composition, as the reality of their cushy lives is gradually illuminated.
    — Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of astute
Adjective
  • Rounding out the lineup is a younger generation of American talent, including Jonathan Cohen, whose artful approach to color, print, and materiality grants his collection a thoughtful (yet never overly precious) point of view.
    — Camila Quimper, Footwear News, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Marine Layer is a good stop for coastal-cool wines, while Marietta Cellars offers its sips in a particularly artful setting.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Sep. 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 19 Sep. 2026.

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