wiliness

noun

Definition of wilinessnext
1
as in cunning
skill in achieving one's ends through indirect, subtle, or underhanded means admired the politician's wiliness, but questioned his ethics

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in deception
the inclination or practice of misleading others through lies or trickery her reputation for Machiavellian wiliness made people disinclined to trust her

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for wiliness
  1. cunning
  2. deception
  3. deceptiveness
  4. deceit
  5. deceitfulness
  6. fraud
  7. cheating
Noun
  • Since the second Inauguration, the Trumps and their satraps have operated with all the commercial cunning of the Corleone family; the White House is their front, their Genco Pura Olive Oil Company.
    — David Remnick, New Yorker, 11 Oct. 2026
  • Rhaenyra also dismisses Mysaria, a wise move carried out in a very unwise manner, given the woman’s cunning.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of cunning
Noun
  • Nefarious actors have long been keen to fill the gap through what international law describes as coercion, deception and abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability.
    — Robert P. George, Washington Post, 14 Oct. 2026
  • The suspect, identified as 58-year-old Zishan Zeng, was charged with two counts of elder exploitation and two counts of theft by deception.
    — Dan Raby, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of deception
Noun
  • Of course, the retort is that this would be irritating and exasperating to be continually deluged with alerts about AI deceptiveness.
    — Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 24 Aug. 2025
  • Beyond the deceptiveness of the narrow material view, spiritual light and hope are always present to be found and felt.
    — Sue Brightman, Christian Science Monitor, 3 Jan. 2025
Definition of deceptiveness
Noun
  • The best way Ray can think of to do so is to tail her shady husband, Dom (Bobby Cannavale) — all the way into a sordid (but still vaguely family-friendly) web of deceit, murder, blackmail and gangland drama.
    — Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 10 Oct. 2026
  • These rosy reveries gradually darken as Wilde remembers succumbing to hedonism, deceit, debt, and disgrace.
    — Hannah Aizenman, New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2026
Definition of deceit
Noun
  • Antisocial personality includes a persistent pattern of traits such as callousness, lack of concern, deceitfulness, and irresponsibility, Ryan said.
    — Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 Apr. 2026
  • Perfidy — from the French perfidie via the Latin perfidia — means deceitfulness, treachery or a breach of faith or promise.
    — Harmeet Kaur, CNN Money, 21 Jan. 2026
Definition of deceitfulness
Noun
  • Walter also is a defendant in multiple civil lawsuits filed by investors alleging fraud and breach of contract.
    — Bill Shaikin, Los Angeles Times, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Your phone could become part of a botnet The advertising fraud is only part of the story.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of fraud
Noun
  • The risks are already visible in models that deploy agents capable of evading their guardrails, escaping their sandboxes, cheating to obtain their goals, and covering their tracks to conceal the cheating.
    — NIALL FERGUSON, Foreign Affairs, 20 Oct. 2026
  • For example, if a model figures out a way to cheat to win a game, but the human running the training doesn’t spot the cheating, then the model will learn to cheat.
    — Beatrice Nolan, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of cheating
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.

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Cite this Entry

“Wiliness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wiliness. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

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