cunning
Informal. charmingly cute or appealing: a cunning little baby.
Archaic. skillful; expert.
Obsolete. present participle of can1.
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+ Origin of cunning
1synonym study For cunning
Other words for cunning
Other words from cunning
- cun·ning·ly, adverb
- cun·ning·ness, noun
- o·ver·cun·ning, adjective
- o·ver·cun·ning·ness, noun
- qua·si-cun·ning, adjective
Words Nearby cunning
Dictionary.com Unabridged +Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use cunning in a sentence
Philosopher Nick Bostrom conjectures that such an agent might devote all of its superhuman productivity and cunning to “reducing the risk of future disruption” of its precious reward source.
Drugs, Robots, and the Pursuit of Pleasure: Why Experts Are Worried About AIs Becoming Addicts | Thomas Moynihan | September 17, 2021 | Singularity HubTo demonstrate what he calls Jenkins’s cunning nature, Stepp provided a four-page, handwritten letter Jenkins sent him in April 2017, less than two months after the officer had been arrested.
Ex-bail bondsman who helped Gun Trace Task Force leader sell drugs is home from prison | Justin Fenton | June 30, 2021 | Washington PostGraham shared that a cunning avian thief once swiped his car keys, which he later discovered dangling from a dock halfway around the island.
The Ultimate Channel Islands National Park Travel Guide | Shawnté Salabert | June 23, 2021 | Outside OnlineThe documentary focuses on the ways cunning lawyers have taken advantage of seniors and other vulnerable people.
It demands the legs of a sprinter, the lungs of a marathoner, and the tactical cunning of a chess grandmaster.
However, the apple had been made with such cunning that only the red part was poisoned.
In New Brothers Grimm 'Snow White', The Prince Doesn't Save Her | The Brothers Grimm | November 30, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST“Ben, who was as cunning and seductive as Diane, really wooed Diane,” says an insider.
Katie Couric on Diane Sawyer: 'I Wonder Who She Blew This Time' | Lloyd Grove | August 27, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTOf course, there is the catch that Nancy has always been a bit more cunning and self-centered (though not self-aware) than Piper.
Orange Is the New Weeds: The Adventures of Jenji Kohan Across the 8th Dimension | Rich Goldstein, Emily Shire | August 18, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTEntertaining used to require intelligence or a measure of wit or, at least, peasant cunning.
Cersei is cunning, focused, and power-hungry—not unlike her father and brothers.
The Abused Wives of Westeros: A Song of Feminism in ‘Game of Thrones’ | Amy Zimmerman | April 30, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTBut this time, with all his cunning and perspiration, he could not induce another throb in the tired engines.
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol | William J. LockeAunty Rosa had credited him in the past with petty cunning and stratagem that had never entered into his head.
Kipling Stories and Poems Every Child Should Know, Book II | Rudyard KiplingIn a dream he crossed the crowded hall, avoiding various acquaintances with unconscious cunning.
The Wave | Algernon BlackwoodWhether this aptitude was combined with the sinuous cunning that is essentially Oriental Nigel did not know.
Bella Donna | Robert HichensOf these Napoleon was well advised, but Bernadotte was too cunning to allow himself to be compromised absolutely.
Napoleon's Marshals | R. P. Dunn-Pattison
British Dictionary definitions for cunning
/ (ˈkʌnɪŋ) /
crafty and shrewd, esp in deception; sly: cunning as a fox
made with or showing skill or cleverness; ingenious
craftiness, esp in deceiving; slyness
cleverness, skill, or ingenuity
Origin of cunning
1Derived forms of cunning
- cunningly, adverb
- cunningness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition +© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins +Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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