cunning
adjective/ˈkʌnɪŋ/
/ˈkʌnɪŋ/
- (disapproving) able to get what you want in a clever way, especially by tricking or cheating somebody synonym crafty, wily
- a cunning liar
- He was as cunning as a fox.
- That cunning old rogue is up to something, I'm sure.
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- clever and showing skill synonym ingenious
- It was a cunning piece of detective work.
Word OriginMiddle English: perhaps from Old Norse kunnandi ‘knowledge’, from kunna ‘know’ (related to can), or perhaps from Middle English cunne, an obsolete variant of can. The original sense was ‘(possessing) great academic knowledge or skill’ and had no implication of deceit; the sense ‘deceitfulness’ dates from late Middle English.
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