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
Relevance
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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of wiles
Stewart Clarke,
Deadline,
14 Apr. 2026
Jimin Han’s graceful novel reimagines the legend of Chunhyang and Mongryong, Korea’s version of Romeo and Juliet, as 30-year-old Dahee seeks to protect her cousin Channing from the wiles of a Korean American community in New England.
—
Hamilton Cain,
Time,
4 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
Jimin Han’s graceful novel reimagines the legend of Chunhyang and Mongryong, Korea’s version of Romeo and Juliet, as 30-year-old Dahee seeks to protect her cousin Channing from the wiles of a Korean American community in New England.
—
Hamilton Cain,
Time,
4 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
-
They are accused of using several ruses to force their way into people’s homes, assaulting unsuspecting residents and holding them hostage for their own money, and demanding access to their crypto accounts.
-
Kids will quickly see through her ruses.
Verb
-
In the present, Eddie, a book editor, charms everyone in Daphne’s circle, including her mom, who divorced him decades earlier.
-
While hiding behind humor, fantasy and music, Doody charms his girlfriend, Frenchy, with his silly jokes and innocence.
Noun
-
Twelve hundred conceptual categories showed up in just 490 papers and nowhere in the formal schemes, clustered in environmental drivers and ecological processes.
-
New York officials say the unit is a national leader that targets complex, high-impact corporate schemes, and Attorney General Letitia James vows legal action, calling the cutoff an outrageous political attack.
Verb
-
SciAm always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe.
-
Still, in its charms the production delights.
Noun
-
But none of that has happened, and Hamas rejected a new disarmament proposal in March that would force it to give up its tunnel network as well as rockets, heavy munitions, explosive devices and assault rifles before any Israel withdrawal.
-
This one from Amazon is only $36 and can keep your devices charged for up to one week on a single charge.
Verb
-
There is something magical about a firefly that fascinates young and old alike.
-
There is something about the play Harvey that fascinates me, especially for right now.
Noun
-
This month was all about the art choices—and a couple clever tricks, too.
-
Consider the four tricks designers keep up their sleeves for this exact situation.
Verb
-
These are novels about bohemian communities of friends and lovers and artistic collaborators, which is a big part of what interests me about AIDS activism.
-
What interests me more is what has changed, which is the very substance of capital.
Cite this Entry
“Wiles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wiles. Accessed 2 Jul. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
