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Definition of canny adjective from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

canny

adjective
 
/ˈkæni/
 
/ˈkæni/
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  1. intelligent, careful and showing good judgement, especially in business or politics
    • a canny politician
    • a canny move
    • He was canny enough to see that they were trying to trap him.
    • Her opponent proved to be more canny than she’d thought.
    • It's a canny move on his part, as he's effectively silenced one of his harshest critics.
    Topics Personal qualitiesc2
    Oxford Collocations DictionaryCanny is used with these nouns:
    • buyer
    • investor
    See full entry
    Word Originlate 16th cent. (originally Scots): from can (in the obsolete sense ‘know’) + -y.
See canny in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
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