What does "guile" mean?
Astuteness often marked by a certain sense of cunning or artful deception.
Guile
/ɡaɪl/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Moderate ·College level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Astuteness often marked by a certain sense of cunning or artful deception.
- Grammar: guile is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: craft, cunning, slyness, trickery.
- Useful contrasts: candidness, candor, candour.
- Usage evidence: I refuse to be taken in by her guile.
How to use "guile"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "guile" 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 "guile" 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 "guile" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "guile" 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 "guile" is acting as name, noun, verb 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 "craft" 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.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "guile", 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 Astuteness often marked by a certain sense of cunning or artful deception. uncountable
"It was a result that owed a lot to a moment of guile from Ramires but more to a display of guts from the Brazilian and his team-mates after Terry's needless dismissal eight minutes before half-time for driving a knee into the back of Alexis Sanchez off the ball."
- 2 Obsolete form of gold. alt-of, obsolete
- 3 the use of tricks to deceive someone (usually to extract money from them) wordnet
- 4 Deceptiveness, deceit, fraud, duplicity, dishonesty. countable, uncountable
"Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!"
- 5 Alternative form of gyle. alt-of, alternative
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 the quality of being crafty wordnet
- 7 shrewdness as demonstrated by being skilled in deception wordnet
Verb
- 1 To deceive, beguile, bewile.
"Who means no guile, be guiled soonest shall"
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname from French.
Antonyms
Example
"I refuse to be taken in by her guile."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "guile"?
Common synonyms include: craft, cunning, slyness, trickery, acuteness, art.
How do you use "guile" in a sentence?
I refuse to be taken in by her guile.
How do you pronounce "guile"?
Pronounced /ɡaɪl/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English gile, from Anglo-Norman gile, from Old French guile (“deception”), from Frankish *wīl (“ruse”), from Proto-Germanic *wīlą, from Proto-Indo-European *wey- (“to turn, bend”). Cognate via Proto-Germanic with wile.
Etymology 2
Variant forms.
Etymology 3
* As an English, Scottish, and French surname, borrowed from French guile. * Also as an English surname, variant of Gill. * Possibly also Americanized from the German surname Geil.