deviousness
/'di:vjəsnis/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Noun:
- The quality of being deceitful and underhanded: "Deviousness" refers to a character or behavior that is dishonest, not straightforward, and intended to trick or mislead others.
- The quality of being oblique and rambling indirectly: "Deviousness" can also describe a manner of speaking, thinking, or acting that is not direct, clear, or straightforward; it is roundabout and circuitous.
Usage and Examples
- Describing dishonest character or behavior:
- The politician's deviousness was finally exposed by the media. (His tendency to be underhanded was revealed.)
- She suspected deviousness in his overly complicated proposal. (She suspected deceitful intent in his plan.)
- Describing an indirect, roundabout manner:
- The deviousness of the mountain path made the hike challenging. (The path's winding, indirect quality was challenging.)
- I was frustrated by the deviousness of his explanation; he never gave a straight answer. (The indirect, rambling nature of his explanation was frustrating.)
Advanced Usage
- Psychological or literary analysis: "Deviousness" is often used to analyze characters in literature or real-life figures, implying a complex, untrustworthy nature.
- The novel explores the deviousness of human ambition.
- Formal critique: Used in formal writing to criticize methods or arguments that are unnecessarily complicated or misleading.
- The report was criticized for its intellectual deviousness, obscuring the core facts.
Variants and Related Words
- Devious (adj): Having the qualities of deviousness.
- a devious route (an indirect path)
- a devious person (a deceitful person)
- Deviously (adv): In a devious manner.
- He acted deviously to achieve his goals.
Synonyms
- Deceitfulness: The quality of being deceptive.
- Cunning: Skill in achieving one's ends by deceit.
- Indirectness: The quality of not being direct or straightforward.
- Slyness: Cunning and deceitful behavior.
Antonyms
- Straightforwardness: The quality of being direct and honest.
- Candor: The quality of being open and honest in expression.
- Directness: The quality of being straightforward and clear.
Related Idioms and Phrases
- To beat a devious path: To take a winding, indirect route (less common, but illustrates the "indirect" sense).
- We beat a devious path through the forest to avoid detection.
- A devious mind: A mind that thinks in cunning, deceitful, or overly complicated ways.
- It takes a devious mind to concoct such an elaborate scheme.
Noun
- the quality of being deceitful and underhanded
- the quality of being oblique and rambling indirectly