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
Ay, the superb slyness of that last response!
—
Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2025
Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for slyness
Noun
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Landing a good apartment in New York City can take some cunning.—
Matthew Sedacca,
Curbed,
5 Nov. 2025
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Coaching successfully in such conditions requires a mixture of humility and self-confidence, as well as a certain cunning.—
Dermot Corrigan,
New York Times,
31 Oct. 2025
Noun
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There’s no subtlety to All’s Fair’s interest in the problems of the wealthy.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
5 Nov. 2025
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And these subtleties, called micro- or meso-expressions, vary from one culture to the next, as well as among individuals within each culture.—
Matt Fuchs,
Time,
4 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Slyness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/slyness. Accessed 30 Nov. 2025.
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