Need another word that means the same as “insidious”? Find 20 synonyms and 30 related words for “insidious” in this overview.
The synonyms of “Insidious” are: pernicious, subtle, stealthy, surreptitious, sneaking, cunning, crafty, machiavellian, artful, guileful, sly, wily, tricky, slick, deceitful, deceptive, dishonest, underhand, backhanded, indirect
According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “insidious” as an adjective can have the following definitions:
| artful | Clever or skilful, especially in a crafty or cunning way. An artful choice of metaphors. |
| backhanded | Made with the back of the hand facing in the direction of movement. Coming from me teasing is a backhanded compliment. |
| crafty | Marked by skill in deception. A crafty crook faked an injury to escape from prison. |
| cunning | Attractive especially by means of smallness or prettiness or quaintness. Cunning kittens. |
| deceitful | Intended to deceive. A deceitful politician. |
| deceptive | Designed to deceive or mislead either deliberately or inadvertently. The deceptive calm in the eye of the storm. |
| dishonest | Deceptive or fraudulent; disposed to cheat or defraud or deceive. Dishonest politicians. |
| guileful | Having or showing sly or cunning intelligence. A supremely guileful and deceptive politician. |
| indirect | Not as a direct effect or consequence. Known as a shady indirect fellow. |
| machiavellian | Of or relating to Machiavelli or the principles of conduct he recommended. |
| pernicious | Exceedingly harmful. The pernicious influences of the mass media. |
| slick | Made slick by e g ice or grease. A slick commercial. |
| sly | Marked by skill in deception. A sly sip of water. |
| sneaking | Not openly expressed. A sneaking suspicion. |
| stealthy | Behaving or done in a cautious and surreptitious manner, so as not to be seen or heard. Stealthy footsteps. |
| subtle | Crafty; cunning. The subtle fiend dissembled. |
| surreptitious | Marked by quiet and caution and secrecy; taking pains to avoid being observed. A surreptitious glance at his watch. |
| tricky | (of a task, problem, etc.) requiring care and skill because difficult or awkward. Applying eyeliner can be a tricky business. |
| underhand | Acting or done in a secret or dishonest way. Underhand dealings. |
| wily | Skilled at gaining an advantage, especially deceitfully. His wily opponents. |
| ambush | Hunt quarry by stalking and ambushing. Seven members of a patrol were killed in an ambush. |
| colonist | A person who settles in a new colony or moves into new country. |
| confiscate | Surrendered as a penalty. The guards confiscated his camera. |
| creep | Move slowly; in the case of people or animals with the body near the ground. The fog was creeping up from the marsh. |
| deprive | Prevent (a person or place) from having or using something. The city was deprived of its water supplies. |
| despoil | Steal goods; take as spoils. The church was despoiled of its marble wall covering. |
| encroachment | Any entry into an area not previously occupied. Urban encroachment of habitat. |
| furtive | Suggestive of guilty nervousness. A furtive manner. |
| incursion | The mistake of incurring liability or blame. The incursion of television into the American living room. |
| intrusion | A body of igneous rock which has intruded the surrounding strata. Villagers say the noise is an intrusion on their lives. |
| invasion | An unwelcome intrusion into another’s domain. In 1546 England had to be defended from invasion. |
| kingship | The state or position of being a king. Upon his succession to the kingship David retained his English estates. |
| loot | Steal (goods) in a war, riot, etc. Ten thousand quid is a lot of loot. |
| lurk | A profitable stratagem; a dodge or scheme. A ruthless killer still lurked in the darkness. |
| piracy | A practice similar to piracy but in other contexts especially hijacking. Air piracy. |
| pretend | Represent fictitiously as in a play or pretend to be or act like. I cannot pretend to say that you are wrong. |
| puritan | A member of a group of English Protestants of the late 16th and 17th centuries who regarded the Reformation of the Church under Elizabeth I as incomplete and sought to simplify and regulate forms of worship. Don t be such a puritan. |
| purloin | Make off with belongings of others. He must have managed to purloin a copy of the key. |
| raid | Conduct a raid on. An early morning raid on a bank. |
| rapine | The violent seizure of someone’s property. Industrial rapine. |
| shy | Short. The shares are 29p shy of their flotation price. |
| sneak | Someone who prowls or sneaks about usually with unlawful intentions. Sneak a cigarette. |
| steal | Steal a base. At 59 95 it s an absolute steal. |
| stealthy | Behaving or done in a cautious and surreptitious manner, so as not to be seen or heard. Stealthy footsteps. |
| subtle | Arranged in an ingenious and elaborate way. A subtle difference. |
| trespass | Entry to a person’s land or property without permission. A man who had trespassed against Judaic law. |
| unsafe | Not safe; dangerous. Drinking water in some areas may be unsafe. |
| usurpation | Wrongfully seizing and holding (an office or powers) by force (especially the seizure of a throne or supreme authority. A succession of generals who ruled by usurpation. |
| waylay | Stop or interrupt (someone) and detain them in conversation or trouble them in some other way. He waylaid me on the stairs. |
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