Definitions

wily

[wahy-lee] / ˈwaɪ li /

ADJECTIVE

crafty, clever

Synonyms

STRONGEST

cagey crooked scheming shifty shrewd sly sneaky underhanded

WEAK

arch artful astute crazy like a fox cunning deceitful deceptive deep designing foxy greasy guileful insidious intriguing knowing sagacious sharp slick slippery smooth streetwise tricky

Antonyms

STRONGEST

aboveboard forthright frank honest open straight

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.

Nothing worked: The wily birds thwarted every defense.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026

Here Hyungjin Son, the bumpkin-ish Bardolph in “Falstaff,” portrayed the Count, while Colclough was the wily Figaro.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 29, 2026

It wasn’t just that Anthropic won a game of chess against that wily Hegseth.

From Slate • Apr. 14, 2026

John Rudge was at Stoke with me, as our director of sport, and was a wily old fox.

From BBC • Feb. 2, 2026

Wild things are elusive and wily and look out for themselves.

From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood

Vocabulary lists containing wily

300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words

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List 7

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The Watsons Go to Birmingham

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