Synonyms for sly
slaɪsly

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:3.3 / 4 votes

1. sly

   Synonyms:
   adroit, artful, crafty, cunning, deceitful, designing, diplomatic, foxy, insincere, intriguing, knowing, maneuvering, sharp, shrewd, subtle, tricky, wily

   Antonyms:
   aboveboard, artless, candid, fair, frank, guileless, honest, impartial, ingenuous, innocent, naive, open, simple, sincere, straightforward, transparent, truthful, unbiased, unprejudiced, unreserved, unsophisticated

Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:5.0 / 1 vote

1. sly

   Synonyms:
   cunning, subtle, crafty, artful, wily, underhanded, astute, stealthy

   Antonyms:
   open, frank, artless, undesigning

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:5.0 / 1 vote

1. crafty, cunning, dodgy, foxy, guileful, knavish, slick, sly, tricksy, tricky, wilyadjective

   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"

   Synonyms:
   tricksy, slippery, cunning, silky, clever, dicey, slick, cute, satiny, chancy, sleek, catchy, ingenious, chanceful, pat, crafty, silklike, wily, guileful, knavish, dodgy, silken, glib, tricky, foxy

   Antonyms:
   artless

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:5.0 / 1 vote

1. slyadjective

   Synonyms:
   cunning, artful, crafty, wily, subtle, insidious, arch, shrewd, knowing

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated WordsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. slyadjective

   Synonyms:
   cautious, nimble, skillful, arch, wary, knowing, shrewd, cunning, wily, artful, subtle, stealthy, clandestine, covert, surreptitious, furtive

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:0.0 / 0 votes

1. List of paraphrases for "sly":

   cunning, underhand, elusive, devious, sneaky, deceitful, duplicitous

Suggested Resources

1. sly

   Song lyrics by sly -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by sly on the Lyrics.com website.

2. SLY

   What does SLY stand for? -- Explore the various meanings for the SLY acronym on the Abbreviations.com website.

How to pronounce sly?

How to say sly in sign language?

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

1. 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Words popularity by usage frequency

How to use sly in a sentence?

1. Anne Frank:

   They mustn't know my despair, I can't let them see the wounds which they have caused, I couldn't bear their sympathy and their kind-hearted jokes, it would only make me want to scream all the more. If I talk, everyone thinks I'm showing off; when I'm silent they think I'm ridiculous; rude if I answer, sly if I get a good idea, lazy if I'm tired, selfish if I eat a mouthful more than I should, stupid, cowardly, crafty, etc. etc.

2. Karen Gibson:

   I have had people screaming at me from the car window, i do get stopped every time I go down the road - photos being taken - sometimes they're trying to pap you (take paparazzi photos) on the sly when they think you're not looking. It's beautiful!

3. James Gunn:

   Always love working with my friend @officialslystallone our work today on #TheSuicideSquad was no exception, despite Sly being an iconic movie star, most people still don't have any idea what an amazing actor this guy is.

4. Dave Pomeroy:

   He expanded the pedal part of the steel. The mechanical evolution of the instrument that led to a new style of playing that was much more expressive and unpredictable, he had this sly, wicked grin that was so great, and if you played something he liked he would look at you and give you that little grin that was the nicest seal of approval ever.

5. Charles Lister:

   I think the regime played a very, very sly game, they were playing spoiler with the full knowledge that the opposition’s patience would wear out.