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
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Recent Examples of wiles
Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 10 Sep. 2025
Noun
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
-
Episode 4 finds both Ellen and Julia throwing themselves headlong into plans that require them to keep up major ruses.—
Kimberly Roots,
TVLine,
22 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
When an actor charms the pants off us, nothing, especially a writer with a ballpoint pen and bad hair, can persuade us to put them back on.—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
18 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Reckless schemes like scaling up desalinated seawater transfers will only worsen the damage.—
Nik Kowsar,
Time,
2 Oct. 2025
-
Basic offensive schemes and defensive principles.—
Joe Vardon,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
SciAm always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe.—
Vanessa Bates Ramirez,
Scientific American,
1 Oct. 2025
-
His general advice to people attempting to craft humane, precise, and literate prose has scarcely aged, and his own bracing style still informs and delights.—
Ben Yagoda,
New Yorker,
22 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
As such, more will be required than a World Cup ticket, particularly because physical tickets are vulnerable to counterfeiting, while electronic devices, which may ordinarily be a way to show authentic tickets, are usually forbidden in consular buildings where interviews take place.—
Adam Crafton,
New York Times,
2 Oct. 2025
-
Nielsen’s streaming ratings cover viewing on TV sets only and don’t include minutes watched on computers or mobile devices.—
Rick Porter,
HollywoodReporter,
2 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Is there one that particularly fascinates you?—
Cressida Leyshon,
New Yorker,
10 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Whether kids are learning tricks, competing with friends, or just marveling at the floating string, ZipString delivers the perfect mix of science, wonder and fun.—
Emily Glover,
Parents,
2 Oct. 2025
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For more tips, tricks and the latest updates, make sure to sign up for our weekly newsletter.—
Janet W. Lee,
NPR,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Both men are doing stuff that keeps them occupied, interests them on some level and pays the bills, but doesn’t consume their every waking thought.—
Nick Miller,
New York Times,
2 Oct. 2025
-
Don’t be pushy, show your gratitude, be open-minded, smile, greet people by their first name, learn what interests them and, most of all, have a sense of humor.—
Rolling Stone Culture Council,
Rolling Stone,
23 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Wiles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wiles. Accessed 6 Oct. 2025.
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