What does "cunning" mean?
Practical knowledge or experience; aptitude in performance; skill, proficiency; dexterity.
Cunning
/ˈkʌnɪŋ/ adj, name, noun, slang
adj, name, noun, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Practical knowledge or experience; aptitude in performance; skill, proficiency; dexterity.
- Grammar: cunning is listed as adj, name, noun, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: craftiness, guile, craft, foxiness.
- Useful contrasts: theftless, guileless, ingenuous.
- Usage evidence: The Sphinx had eaten hundreds of people on their way to the city of Thebes, because they could not answer the riddle the cunning Sphinx had asked them.
How to use "cunning"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "cunning" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "cunning" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "cunning" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "cunning" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "cunning" is acting as adj, name, noun, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "craftiness" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
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Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "cunning", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Practical knowledge or experience; aptitude in performance; skill, proficiency; dexterity. countable, uncountable
"indeed at this very moment he's slipped away with the utmost cunning into a form that's most perplexing to investigate."
- 2 crafty artfulness (especially in deception) wordnet
- 3 Practical skill employed in a secret or crafty manner; craft; artifice; skillful deceit; art or magic. countable, uncountable
"Caliban: As I told thee before, I am subject to a tyrant, a sorcerer that by his cunning hath cheated me of the island."
- 4 shrewdness as demonstrated by being skilled in deception wordnet
- 5 The disposition to employ one's skill in an artful manner; craftiness; guile; artifice; skill of being cunning, sly, conniving, or deceitful. countable, uncountable
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 The natural wit or instincts of an animal. countable, uncountable
"the cunning of the fox or hare"
- 7 Knowledge; learning; special knowledge (sometimes implying occult or magical knowledge). countable, obsolete, uncountable
Adjective
- 1 Sly; crafty; clever in surreptitious behaviour.
"They are resolved to be cunning; let others run the hazard of being sincere."
- 2 Skillful, artful. obsolete
"Esau was a cunning hunter."
- 3 Wrought with, or exhibiting, skill or ingenuity; ingenious. obsolete
"cunning work"
- 4 Cute, appealing. Maine, colloquial, dated
"everybody gives something to the cunning little boy; his eyes are large and soft, and he wears a pointed hat, and tight breeches, and jacket"
Adjective
- 1 showing inventiveness and skill wordnet
- 2 marked by skill in deception wordnet
- 3 attractive especially by means of smallness or prettiness or quaintness wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Example
"The Sphinx had eaten hundreds of people on their way to the city of Thebes, because they could not answer the riddle the cunning Sphinx had asked them."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "cunning"?
Common synonyms include: craftiness, guile, craft, foxiness, slyness, abet.
How do you use "cunning" in a sentence?
The Sphinx had eaten hundreds of people on their way to the city of Thebes, because they could not answer the riddle the cunning Sphinx had asked them.
How do you pronounce "cunning"?
Pronounced /ˈkʌnɪŋ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English cunning, kunning, konnyng, alteration of earlier Middle English cunninde, kunnende, cunnand, from Old English cunnende, present participle of cunnan (“to know how to, be able to”), equivalent to con + -ing. Cognate with Scots cunnand (“cunning”), German könnend (“able to do”), Icelandic kunnandi (“cunning”). More at con, can.
Etymology 2
From Middle English cunning, kunnyng, partially from Old English *cunning (verbal noun), from Old English cunnan (“to know how to, be able to”); partially from Old English cunnung (“knowledge, trial, probation, experience, contact, carnal knowledge”), from cunnian (“to search into, try, test, seek for, explore, investigate, experience, have experience of, to make trial of, know”), equivalent to con + -ing.