Sly
[slaɪ]
Definition
(v. t.) Dexterous in performing an action, so as to escape notice; nimble; skillful; cautious; shrewd; knowing; -- in a good sense.
(v. t.) Artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily.
(v. t.) Done with, and marked by, artful and dexterous secrecy; subtle; as, a sly trick.
(v. t.) Light or delicate; slight; thin.
(adv.) Slyly.
Typed by Brooke
Synonyms and Synonymous
a. Cunning, artful, crafty, wily, subtle, insidious, arch, shrewd, knowing.
Edited by Darrell
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Cunning, subtle, crafty, artful, wily, underhanded, astute, stealthy
ANT:Open, frank, artless, undesigning
Checked by Erwin
Definition
adj. dexterous in doing anything so as to be unobserved: cunning: wily: secret: done with artful dexterity: illicit.—n. Sly′boots a sly or cunning person or animal.—advs. Sly′ly Slī′ly.—ns. Sly′ness Slī′ness.—On the sly slyly secretly.
Checked by Llewellyn
Examples
- You sly creature! Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- We flew up, and hid behind the curtains, but sly peeps showed us Fred and the students singing away down below. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- He gave her a very blithe look, and a very sly look. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- Look at that infernal sly-boots of a Tapeworm, Fipps whispered, examining his chief from the stalls. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- He doats on it, your worship,' replied Bumble; giving Oliver a sly pinch, to intimate that he had better not say he didn't. Charles Dickens. Oliver Twist.
- I do think, she continued, nothing was ever carried on so sly; for it was but two days before Lucy called and sat a couple of hours with me. Jane Austen. Sense and Sensibility.
- Men made sly and crude schemes to corner it, to hoard it, to send up prices by releasing hoarded metals. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- Here was a sly glance at Emma. Jane Austen. Emma.
- I can't say as you treat me exactly like a lady, and--now don't laugh--oh, you sly, pretty rogue! Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
- But such an old card as this, so deep, so sly, and secret (though I don't believe he is ever sober), I never came across. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- Fanny's glance was the slyest thing in nature, and was given in perfect fear and trembling. Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
Checked by Flossie