Insidious
[ɪn'sɪdɪəs]
Definition
(adj.) working or spreading in a hidden and usually injurious way; 'glaucoma is an insidious disease'; 'a subtle poison' .
(adj.) intended to entrap .
(adj.) beguiling but harmful; 'insidious pleasures' .
Inputed by Cecile--From WordNet
Definition
(a.) Lying in wait; watching an opportunity to insnare or entrap; deceitful; sly; treacherous; -- said of persons; as, the insidious foe.
(a.) Intended to entrap; characterized by treachery and deceit; as, insidious arts.
Edited by Fred
Synonyms and Synonymous
a. Artful, sly, wily, arch, crafty, cunning, subtle, intriguing, designing, deceitful, treacherous, crooked, trickish, TRICKY, foxy, snaky, diplomatic, Machiavelian.
Typist: Norton
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Wily, treacherous, designing, dangerous, deceitful, {[ely]?}, crafty, artful
ANT:Straightforward, sincere, undesigning, innocuous
Checker: Maisie
Definition
adj. watching an opportunity to ensnare: intended to entrap: deceptive: advancing imperceptibly: treacherous.—adv. Insid′iously.—n. Insid′iousness.
Typist: Silvia
Examples
- Hence it was necessary to maintain a constant vigilance to defeat the insidious attacks of carping critics and others who would attempt to injure the Edison system by misleading statements. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
- She was suspended upon the surface of the insidious reality until such time as she also should disappear beneath it. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- For, almost at once, she had felt the insidious charm of slipping back into a life where every material difficulty was smoothed away. Edith Wharton. The House of Mirth.
- It was despicable, a very insidious form of prostitution. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- She had a curious sort of allegiance with Loerke, all the while, now, something insidious and traitorous. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
Typist: Silvia