canny

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Probing further, the critic hears, beneath the brazenness, a canny control in the singer’s voice that “tells us more than the words it delivers.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 24, 2026

"Larijani is a true insider, a canny operator, familiar with how the system operates and familiar with the supreme leader's inclinations."

From Barron's • Feb. 25, 2026

Rodríguez is considered a canny politician who some contend is much less ideological than her leftist history implies.

From Salon • Feb. 5, 2026

It marks a bizarre and spectacular union of the interests of Sir Lord Jimmy, who is so Satanic that he wears an upside-down cross, and the canny Dr. Kelson.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 15, 2026

I considered how canny my father was, despite being a fool.

From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein