Thesaurus
cunning
adjective
Synonyms and Antonyms of CUNNING
1
clever at attaining one's ends by indirect and often deceptive means <a cunning, underhanded plan to win the election by preying on people's fears and prejudices>
Synonyms beguiling, cagey (also cagy), crafty, cunning, cute, designing, devious, dodgy [chiefly British], foxy, guileful, scheming, shrewd, slick, sly, subtle, tricky, wily
Related Words astute, facile, glib, sharp; crooked, deceitful, deceptive, dishonest, fraudulent, insinuating, knavish, Machiavellian, oblique, serpentine, shady, shifty, slippery, sneaky, treacherous, underhand, underhanded, unscrupulous; backhanded, double-dealing, hypocritical, insincere, left-handed, mealy, mealymouthed, smooth-tongued, two-faced; circuitous, circular, roundabout; clandestine, concealed, covert, furtive, hugger-mugger, secret, stealthy, surreptitious, undercover; calculating, plotting
Near Antonyms obvious, open, patent, plain, public, unconcealed; aboveboard, candid, direct, forthright, frank, honest, natural, outspoken, plainspoken, real, simple, sincere, straightforward, unaffected, unpretending, unpretentious, unvarnished; childlike, impressionable, simpleminded, unsophisticated, unworldly; unforced, unstudied; trustful, trusting
2
skillful with the hands <only the most cunning cabinetmaker could have crafted such a beautifully proportioned chest of drawers>
Related Words agile, flexible, graceful, limber, lissome (also lissom), lithe, lithesome, nimble, spry; coordinated; able, adept, capable, competent, expert, habile, masterful, masterly, proficient, qualified, skilled, skillful, sure-handed; double-jointed, loose-jointed
Near Antonyms awkward, bungling, clumsy, fumbling, gauche, gawky, graceless, klutzy, rough-hewn, stiff, stilted, uncomfortable, uneasy, ungainly, ungraceful, wooden; uncoordinated; incapable, incompetent, inept, inexpert, maladroit
Seen & Heard
What made you want to look up cunning[adjective]? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).