as in cunning
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
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Recent Examples of slyness
Like the tricksters of myth, there’s depth to their slyness.
—
Big Think, 5 Feb. 2026
Ay, the superb slyness of that last response!
—Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2025
Big Think, 5 Feb. 2026
Ay, the superb slyness of that last response!
—Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for slyness
Noun
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Maybe the mere fact of having been born illustrious, with no apparent faults, with nothing to prove or to be ashamed of, had liberated John from the resentments the rest of us feel, and from the cunning and ambition such resentments fuel.—
Jeffrey Eugenides,
New Yorker,
4 Apr. 2026
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The Brazil international combines technical craft with a decisive cunning.—
Carl Anka,
New York Times,
21 Mar. 2026
Noun
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This year’s lineup suggests that subtlety may carry the day, but there is always room for a little theater.—
Oren Hartov,
Robb Report,
14 Apr. 2026
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There’s nothing fancy about a big, square screen that sits upstage of the circular playing area, but the subtlety in which the images and mood flows through the screen greatly enhance the storytelling.—
David John Chávez,
Mercury News,
10 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Slyness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/slyness. Accessed 22 Apr. 2026.
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