Tikibu: pronunciation dictionary with use examples

Word: wily
IPA transcription: [w'aɪli]
adverb meaning of the word
  • Synonyms: crafty, cunning, dodgy, foxy, guileful, knavish, slick, sly, tricksy, tricky, wily
    Meaning: marked by skill in deception; "cunning men often pass for wise"; "deep political machinations"; "a foxy scheme"; "a slick evasive answer"; "sly as a fox"; "tricky Dick"; "a wily old attorney"
Usage examples
  • The wily bishop set to work, and the consequences were soon visible.
  • Motionless as a bronze statue was the wily ape-man, for well he knew how wary is Pisah, the fish.
  • And there he was in great peril, for the giant was a wily fighter, but at last Sir Marhaus smote off his right arm above the elbow.
  • But soon resuming his self-possession--his wily, "business-like" self-possession--he started up, and shook me vehemently by the hand.
  • I am sure that, not two leagues from here, we shall come across that wily Reuben, his nag, his cart and the tall stranger all in a heap in the middle of the road."
  • As time went on he resolved at any cost to rid the Court of the presence of this man, whose simple, straightforward conduct baffled the wily and defeated their plans; but an attempt to get him ejected from the Council met with such stormy opposition that the Prime Minister determined to change his tactics.