CUNNING • FREE TRANSLATOR.ORG • Definition of Cunning

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/kˈənɪŋ/ Listen

Cunning

adjective

1.

Attractive especially by means of smallness or prettiness or quaintness. Synonym: cute. "A cute little apartment" , "Cunning kittens" , "A cunning baby"

2.

Marked by skill in deception. Synonyms: crafty, dodgy, foxy, guileful, knavish, slick, sly, tricksy, tricky, wily. "Deep political machinations" , "A foxy scheme" , "A slick evasive answer" , "Sly as a fox" , "Tricky Dick" , "A wily old attorney"

3.

Showing inventiveness and skill. Synonyms: clever, ingenious. "The cunning maneuvers leading to his success" , "An ingenious solution to the problem"

noun

1.

Shrewdness as demonstrated by being skilled in deception. Synonyms: craft, craftiness, foxiness, guile, slyness, wiliness.

2.

Crafty artfulness (especially in deception).

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Etymology of 'Cunning'

WordNet 3.0 © 2010 Princeton University

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"Cunning" Quotes from Famous Books

... cunning in your schools than I had thought, for it is a certain method of showing them their vanity," returned the trapper, suddenly abandoning a discussion, from which the naturalist was just beginning to anticipate great delight, by turning to his dog, whose restlessness he attempted ...

— The Prairie • J. Fenimore Cooper

... told me that they were the most savage and warlike of all the wild tribes in the Pampa del Sacramento, between the rivers Ucayali and Hualtaga. "We must be on our guard against them, for they are equally cunning as fierce, and I truly believe that they really do eat those they can ...

— Manco, the Peruvian Chief - An Englishman's Adventures in the Country of the Incas • W.H.G. Kingston

... by this outburst, as he was cunning enough to know precisely how far he could venture with safety. "I am waiting," ...

— Red Money • Fergus Hume

... The curious nest among the branches green, The busy weaver-bird plaits of thick leaves, And in and out its pliant meshes weaves; And since thou sayest 'twere hard to match thy fine, Strong, woven fabrics, watch the weaver twine His cunning wefts. Though still," she said, "think not I scorn thy gifts, Prince Eblis; for I wot Their worth is greater than my tongue can say." Then Eblis deeper in the cave led her a little way, And showed a stately screen of such fine art One almost felt the breeze that ...

— Lilith - The Legend of the First Woman • Ada Langworthy Collier

... have the cunning of foxes," he said to Agathe. "In all my days I never saw a man carry things with such a high hand as that soldier; they say war educates young men! Joseph has let himself be fooled. They have shut his mouth with wine, and those miserable pictures, ...

— The Two Brothers • Honore de Balzac

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