Need another word that means the same as “cunning”? Find 56 synonyms and 30 related words for “cunning” in this overview.
The synonyms of “Cunning” are: clever, ingenious, crafty, dodgy, foxy, guileful, knavish, slick, sly, tricksy, tricky, wily, cute, artful, devious, knowing, scheming, designing, slippery, manipulative, machiavellian, deceitful, deceptive, duplicitous, janus-faced, skilful, adroit, picturesque, charming, sweet, attractive, pleasantly old-fashioned, old-fashioned, old-world, toytown, craft, craftiness, foxiness, guile, slyness, wiliness, artfulness, deviousness, trickery, trickiness, duplicity, deceitfulness, deceit, chicanery, shrewdness, astuteness, sharpness, acuteness, acumen, acuity, intelligence
According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “cunning” as a noun can have the following definitions:
| acuity | Sharpness of vision; the visual ability to resolve fine detail (usually measured by a Snellen chart. Visual acuity. |
| acumen | The ability to make good judgements and take quick decisions. She hides a shrewd business acumen. |
| acuteness | A sensitivity that is keen and highly developed. Dogs have a remarkable acuteness of smell. |
| artfulness | The quality of being adroit in taking unfair advantage. |
| astuteness | Intelligence manifested by being astute (as in business dealings. |
| chicanery | The use of deception or subterfuge to achieve one’s purpose. Storylines packed with political chicanery. |
| craft | An aircraft or spaceship. He represented the craft of brewers. |
| craftiness | A steep rugged rock or cliff. |
| deceit | The quality of being fraudulent. A web of deceit. |
| deceitfulness | The quality of being crafty. |
| deviousness | The quality of being deceitful and underhanded. |
| duplicity | A fraudulent or duplicitous representation. The president was accused of duplicity in his dealings with Congress. |
| foxiness | Shrewdness as demonstrated by being skilled in deception. |
| guile | Sly or cunning intelligence. He used all his guile and guts to free himself from the muddle he was in. |
| intelligence | The collection of information of military or political value. The chief of military intelligence. |
| sharpness | The attribute of urgency in tone of voice. The sharpness of strange spices. |
| shrewdness | The quality of having or showing good powers of judgement. He is a man of some tactical shrewdness. |
| slyness | Shrewdness as demonstrated by being skilled in deception. |
| trickery | The use of tricks to deceive someone (usually to extract money from them. The dealer resorted to trickery. |
| trickiness | The quality of requiring skill or caution. These puzzles are famous for their trickiness. |
| wiliness | A person who lacks confidence, is irresolute and wishy-washy. |
According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “cunning” as an adjective can have the following definitions:
| adroit | Clever or skilful. An adroit technician. |
| artful | Showing creative skill or taste. The artful dodger. |
| attractive | Having qualities or features which arouse interest. An attractive opportunity. |
| charming | Possessing or using or characteristic of or appropriate to supernatural powers- Shakespeare. He was a charming affectionate colleague. |
| clever | Healthy or well. A simple but clever idea for helping people learn computing. |
| crafty | Marked by skill in deception. They are looking for crafty people to join the group to make ornaments. |
| cute | Sexually attractive; good-looking. The two brothers were cute enough to find a couple of rich women and marry them. |
| deceitful | Marked by deliberate deceptiveness especially by pretending one set of feelings and acting under the influence of another. Smooth shining and deceitful as thin ice. |
| deceptive | Designed to deceive or mislead either deliberately or inadvertently. Deceptive calm. |
| designing | Concealing crafty designs for advancing your own interest. A selfish and designing nation obsessed with the dark schemes of European intrigue. |
| devious | (of a route or journey) longer and less direct than the most straightforward way. They arrived at the town by a devious route. |
| dodgy | Of uncertain outcome; especially fraught with risk. A dodgy second hand car salesman. |
| duplicitous | (of a charge or plea) containing more than one allegation. A duplicitous philanderer. |
| foxy | Sexually attractive (typically used of a woman. A terrier with prick ears and a foxy expression. |
| guileful | Marked by skill in deception. A supremely guileful and deceptive politician. |
| ingenious | Showing inventiveness and skill. His theory while ingenious is most assuredly incorrect. |
| janus-faced | Marked by deliberate deceptiveness especially by pretending one set of feelings and acting under the influence of another- Israel Zangwill. |
| knavish | Marked by skill in deception. His knavish tricks will be frustrated. |
| knowing | Experienced or shrewd, especially excessively or prematurely so. A knowing breach of the order by the appellants. |
| machiavellian | Of or relating to Machiavelli or the principles of conduct he recommended. |
| manipulative | Skillful in influencing or controlling others to your own advantage. The early manipulative techniques of a three year old child. |
| old-fashioned | Out of fashion. |
| old-world | Characteristic of former times especially in Europe. |
| picturesque | Suggesting or suitable for a picture; pretty as a picture. The salad has no regional or picturesque name. |
| pleasantly old-fashioned | Affording pleasure; being in harmony with your taste or likings. |
| scheming | Acting with a specific goal. They had mean scheming little minds. |
| skilful | Having or showing knowledge and skill and aptitude. A skilful midfielder. |
| slick | Made slick by e g ice or grease. Sidewalks slick with ice. |
| slippery | Not to be trusted. The word intended is a decidedly slippery one. |
| sly | Showing in an insinuating way that one has some secret knowledge that may be harmful or embarrassing. He gave a sly grin. |
| sweet | Having a sweet nature befitting an angel or cherub. Sweet dessert wines. |
| toytown | Resembling a quaint or miniature replica of something. Below you far away was a single toytown rooftop. |
| tricksy | Ingenious, intricate, or complicated. A tricksy little device. |
| tricky | Not to be trusted- James Agee. The radio is tricky to operate. |
| wily | Marked by skill in deception. A wily old attorney. |
| artful | Showing creative skill or taste. An artful photograph of a striking woman. |
| astute | Having or showing an ability to accurately assess situations or people and turn this to one’s advantage. An astute businessman. |
| baloney | Pretentious or silly talk or writing. I don t buy it it s all a load of baloney. |
| betrayal | An act of deliberate betrayal. The betrayal by the king by his daughter. |
| cheating | A deception for profit to yourself. |
| chicanery | The use of deception or subterfuge to achieve one’s purpose. Storylines packed with political chicanery. |
| cozen | Obtain by deception. He was able to cozen a profit. |
| crafty | Marked by skill in deception. A market full of crafty pots and interesting earrings. |
| deceit | The quality of being fraudulent. A web of deceit. |
| deceitful | Marked by deliberate deceptiveness especially by pretending one set of feelings and acting under the influence of another- Israel Zangwill. Smooth shining and deceitful as thin ice. |
| deception | A thing that deceives. A range of elaborate deceptions. |
| delude | Make (someone) believe something that is not true. Too many theorists have deluded the public. |
| dishonesty | Lack of honesty; acts of lying or cheating or stealing. The dismissal of thirty civil servants for dishonesty and misconduct. |
| duplicity | The state of being double. The president was accused of duplicity in his dealings with Congress. |
| fraud | Wrongful or criminal deception intended to result in financial or personal gain. Prosecutions for social security frauds. |
| fraudulence | Something intended to deceive; deliberate trickery intended to gain an advantage. |
| guile | Sly or cunning intelligence. He used all his guile and guts to free himself from the muddle he was in. |
| hoax | Subject to a playful hoax or joke. The evidence had been planted as part of an elaborate hoax. |
| hoodwink | Influence by slyness. Staff were hoodwinked into thinking the cucumber was a sawn off shotgun. |
| humbug | Trick or deceive. You see what a humbug I am. |
| hypocrite | A person who professes beliefs and opinions that he or she does not hold in order to conceal his or her real feelings or motives. The story tells of respectable Ben who turns out to be a cheat and a hypocrite. |
| machiavellian | A follower of Machiavelli’s principles. |
| manipulative | Exercising unscrupulous control or influence over a person or situation. The early manipulative techniques of a three year old child. |
| shrewd | Used of persons. She was shrewd enough to guess the motive behind his gesture. |
| skulduggery | Underhand, unscrupulous, or dishonest behaviour or activities. A firm that investigates commercial skulduggery. |
| sly | (of an action) surreptitious. Sly as a fox. |
| trickery | The use of tricks to deceive someone (usually to extract money from them. The dealer resorted to trickery. |
| tricky | Not to be trusted. Applying eyeliner can be a tricky business. |
| wile | The use of tricks to deceive someone (usually to extract money from them. The gang had played monopoly as they wiled away the hours. |
| wily | Skilled at gaining an advantage, especially deceitfully. His wily opponents. |
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