as in ruses
a clever often underhanded means to achieve an end
had to use all of her wiles to convince her guests to stay for dinner
Synonyms & Similar Words
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as in charms
to attract or delight as if by magic
her stories of the Old South could wile anyone
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of wiles
Stewart Clarke, Deadline, 14 Apr. 2026
A’zion, as the protagonist’s married lover, who can match his manipulative wiles beat for beat, conveys an exciting, bittersweet sense of the wheels turning beneath deceptive surfaces.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 22 Jan. 2026
Determined to find their way back to their humans, the wise Shadow, the sarcastic Sassy, and the impulsive Chance attempt to navigate their way home using only their wiles and each other.
—Chris Snellgrove, Entertainment Weekly, 26 Dec. 2025
That Hedda has forged such a life for herself is a testament to her wiles — no one is more adept at delivering acidic barbs cloaked by a friendly hand on the shoulder.
—Abby Monteil, Them., 28 Oct. 2025
Seeing Laura’s discomfort with her, Cherry employs her feminine wiles to cause a fracture in Laura and Daniel’s connection.
—Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 10 Sep. 2025
Noun
The format has an all-powerful ‘Taskmaster’ who, with the help of a loyal assistant, tests the wiles of a panel of comedians over the course of each series by setting them weird and wonderful challenges.
—Stewart Clarke, Deadline, 14 Apr. 2026
A’zion, as the protagonist’s married lover, who can match his manipulative wiles beat for beat, conveys an exciting, bittersweet sense of the wheels turning beneath deceptive surfaces.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 22 Jan. 2026
Determined to find their way back to their humans, the wise Shadow, the sarcastic Sassy, and the impulsive Chance attempt to navigate their way home using only their wiles and each other.
—Chris Snellgrove, Entertainment Weekly, 26 Dec. 2025
That Hedda has forged such a life for herself is a testament to her wiles — no one is more adept at delivering acidic barbs cloaked by a friendly hand on the shoulder.
—Abby Monteil, Them., 28 Oct. 2025
Seeing Laura’s discomfort with her, Cherry employs her feminine wiles to cause a fracture in Laura and Daniel’s connection.
—Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 10 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wiles
Noun
-
Kids will quickly see through her ruses.—
Elise Broach,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2026
-
The New York Colored American reported that some offers of short-term work for Black men — moving livestock to or from Kentucky, for example — were ruses that ended with kidnappings.—
Equal Justice Initiative,
USA Today,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
One part of the show that didn’t align with this viewpoint was the casting of Tanzyn Crawford as Tanselle, a traveling performer from Dorne who charms Dunk, and some on social media have griped about the actress being in the show.—
James Hibberd,
HollywoodReporter,
2 Mar. 2026
-
As Sophie Baek, the Cinderella-style housemaid of illegitimate birth who charms the latest eligible Bridgerton bachelor, Ha is exquisite.—
Kathryn VanArendonk,
Vulture,
27 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
With one year left and her throne on the line, Queen Mo — who is 39 — and her raven sidekick JoJo hatch increasingly desperate schemes.—
Todd Spangler,
Variety,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Vrabel is truly an expert in NFL defensive schemes AND finding the way to a woman's heart.—
Amber Harding OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
SciAm always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe.—
K. R. Callaway,
Scientific American,
24 Apr. 2026
-
The obvious stork implication of this wallpaper delights me almost as much as its peel-and-stick quality.—
Julia Harrison,
Architectural Digest,
22 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Sometimes the batteries on the trackers would run low, and McGovern’s team would need to remove and recharge the devices, before surreptitiously replacing them.—
Ed Caesar,
New Yorker,
30 Apr. 2026
-
In 2021, a critical vulnerability in Log4j—a logging library maintained by a handful of volunteers—exposed hundreds of millions of devices.—
Evan Johnson,
IEEE Spectrum,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
This is your chance to pursue whatever subject most fascinates you.—
Tarot.com,
New York Daily News,
9 Apr. 2026
-
The cause of brain freeze fascinates neurologists and Slurpee lovers alike, and the science behind it is especially captivating.—
Julia Daye,
Popular Science,
2 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Davis occasionally destabilizes this very familiar soundtrack with sly production tricks from Horne.—
Emma Madden,
Pitchfork,
28 Apr. 2026
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However, deer are adaptable creatures and often get used to the tricks put in their path, eventually ignoring attempts to deter them, Walke says.—
SJ McShane,
Martha Stewart,
26 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The fact that both CBS News and CNN will be under the new corporate roof, however, makes the involvement of Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf interests a sensitive point.—
Dade Hayes,
Deadline,
27 Apr. 2026
-
If that interests you, read on.—
Michael Khouw,
CNBC,
16 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Wiles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wiles. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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