noun ·2 syllables ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   The state or quality of being sly. uncountable

   "With his natural slyness, he was able to talk his way out of trouble."

2. 2
   shrewdness as demonstrated by being skilled in deception wordnet
3. 3
   The result or product of being sly. countable

Synonyms

All synonyms

craftinessartartfulnessartificecanninesscleverness

Example

More examples

"With his natural slyness, he was able to talk his way out of trouble."

Etymology

From Middle English slynesse. By surface analysis, sly + -ness.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.