1
as in difficult
requiring exceptional skill or caution in performance or handling
a tricky musical passage for the woodwind section
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in cunning
clever at attaining one's ends by indirect and often deceptive means
he's a tricky one, so be careful when dealing with him
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of tricky
Satisfying the old and new theme park factions is tricky, Atwood said.
—
Dewayne Bevil, The Orlando Sentinel, 3 July 2025
The tricky thing about vitamin D, however, is that there are not many foods that contain this vitamin.
—Leslie Baumann, Miami Herald, 3 July 2025
After another government U-turn this week, this time on disability benefits, Reeves must now find savings elsewhere — tricky, when she's just announced a massive public spending plans — break her borrowing rules or go against Labour's campaign pledges and hike taxes on workers later this year.
—Holly Ellyatt, CNBC, 3 July 2025
But the squall on the water was separate, less substantial in terms of both space and duration — and trickier to foresee, according to Colin McKellar, a meteorologist who was on duty Saturday in Reno.
—Ethan Wolin, Sacbee.com, 24 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for tricky
Dewayne Bevil, The Orlando Sentinel, 3 July 2025
The tricky thing about vitamin D, however, is that there are not many foods that contain this vitamin.
—Leslie Baumann, Miami Herald, 3 July 2025
After another government U-turn this week, this time on disability benefits, Reeves must now find savings elsewhere — tricky, when she's just announced a massive public spending plans — break her borrowing rules or go against Labour's campaign pledges and hike taxes on workers later this year.
—Holly Ellyatt, CNBC, 3 July 2025
But the squall on the water was separate, less substantial in terms of both space and duration — and trickier to foresee, according to Colin McKellar, a meteorologist who was on duty Saturday in Reno.
—Ethan Wolin, Sacbee.com, 24 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for tricky
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tricky
Adjective
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Speaking with director Joe Johnston, Oka explained the two most difficult things to simulate digitally at the time were human skin and water.—
Jordan Hoffman,
EW.com,
15 July 2025
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They are often considered the most beautiful irises but can be difficult to grow.—
Andy Wilcox,
Better Homes & Gardens,
15 July 2025
Adjective
-
The Residence starred Uzo Aduba as quirky detective Cordelia Cupp, who uses her cunning intellect and obsessive bird-watching abilities to crack otherwise unsolvable cases.—
Andy Swift,
TVLine,
2 July 2025
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As for steps that could be taken in the nineteenth century, Lyell managed to invent a cunning way to determine the relative age of geological strata.—
Lewis Hyde,
Harpers Magazine,
18 June 2025
Adjective
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With one out, however, Ohtani was thrown at the plate trying to score from third on Pages’ chopper up the line — making an aggressive, but proper, read in a game in which the Dodgers had long before conceded that runs would be tough to come by.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
9 July 2025
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Morton, 43, may take that advice under serious consideration, mentioning how tough the fans – and even fellow cast members – have been on her following this past season’s cast trip to Grenada.—
John Lawson,
Essence,
9 July 2025
Adjective
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July 6, 2025: Rodman watching Shelton’s match at Wimbledon is so cute the ESPN announcer literally giggles trying to talk about them.—
Elizabeth Logan,
Glamour,
7 July 2025
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Oh, and the best pairs of the bunch are also plain old comfy (and cute, in a gorpcore kind of way).—
Sara Coughlin,
SELF,
7 July 2025
Adjective
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And new privacy legislation in Senate Bill 1295 requires collectors of sensitive data to notify consumers if their personal data is being used to train large language models.—
Angela Eichhorst,
Hartford Courant,
15 July 2025
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In Cisco’s 2025 Data Privacy Benchmark, 64% of global respondents worry about inadvertently exposing sensitive information through AI tools, even as nearly half admit to feeding personal data into them.—
Boris Dzhingarov,
Forbes.com,
15 July 2025
Adjective
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They are intended to reduce trauma to the scalp, may contribute to smoother recovery, and are designed to help achieve subtle, natural-looking outcomes.—
Daniel Fusch,
USA Today,
12 July 2025
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The accessory was a subtle nod to the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, whose colors have been green and purple since 1909.—
Renan Botelho,
Footwear News,
12 July 2025
Adjective
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This is especially problematic because compensation in financial services is reliant on bonuses, commissions and decision-making power and these rewards don’t often trickle down.—
Sughnen Yongo,
Forbes.com,
13 July 2025
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For Gathegi, the shocking moment underscored age-old problematic tropes.—
Brian Davids,
HollywoodReporter,
11 July 2025
Adjective
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Mayes seeks to dissolve both companies, citing violations of the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act and deceptive practices targeting underage customers.—
Jose R. Gonzalez,
AZCentral.com,
9 July 2025
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The suit alleges excessive fees resulting in high annual percentage rates, deceptive tipping practices and misleading consumers about the voluntary nature of fees.—
AJ Dhaliwal,
Forbes.com,
9 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Tricky.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tricky. Accessed 21 Jul. 2025.
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