guileful
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Adjective:
- Deceitfully cunning: Characterized by skillful deception, craftiness, or sly intelligence. It describes someone who uses trickery and clever schemes to achieve their goals, often in a way that is not honest or straightforward.
Examples of Usage
- Adjective:
- The guileful merchant convinced the tourists the trinket was a priceless antique.
- She was too guileful to be caught in her own web of lies.
- His guileful tactics in the negotiation secured him an unfair advantage.
Advanced Usage
"Guileful charm": A charming manner that is deliberately deceptive.
- He won them over with his guileful charm before revealing his true intentions.
"Guileful manipulation": The act of skillfully and deceptively controlling or influencing someone.
- The dictator maintained power through guileful manipulation of the media.
Variants and Related Words
Guile (n): Sly or cunning intelligence used to deceive.
- He used guile rather than force to achieve his aims.
Guilefully (adv): In a deceitfully cunning manner.
- He guilefully avoided answering the direct question.
Synonyms
- Cunning: Skilled in deception or subterfuge.
- Sly: Acting with secrecy and cunning.
- Wily: Skilled at gaining an advantage, especially deceitfully.
- Devious: Showing a skillful use of underhanded tactics to achieve goals.
- Artful: Clever or skillful, often in a cunning way.
Antonyms
- Artless: Without guile or deception; natural and sincere.
- Ingenuous: Innocent and unsuspecting.
- Straightforward: Honest and frank.
Related Idioms
As sly as a fox: Extremely cunning and deceitful.
- Be careful negotiating with him; he's as sly as a fox.
To play a deep game: To engage in complex, secret, and cunning schemes.
- The spy was playing a deep game, and no one knew his true allegiance.
Adjective
- marked by skill in deception
- cunning men often pass for wise
- deep political machinations
- a foxy scheme
- a slick evasive answer
- sly as a fox
- tricky Dick
- a wily old attorney