sly en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- /slaɪ/
- (Southern-England) audio
Etymology
From Middle English sly, sley, sleigh, sleiȝ, from Old Norse slǿgr (“sly, cunning”, literally “capable of hitting or striking”), from Proto-Germanic *slōgiz (“lively, agile, cunning, sly, striking”), from Proto-Indo-European *slak- (“to hit, throw”). Cognate with Icelandic slægur (“crafty, sly”), Norwegian Nynorsk sløg (“sly”). Related to sleight, slay. In all likelihood, however, unrelated with Saterland Frisian slau (“sly, crafty”), Dutch sluw (“sly, cunning”), Low German slu (“sly, cunning”), German schlau (“clever, crafty”). Doublet of sleight and slöjd
Meanings
- Artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily.
- (qualifier:having a positive connotation) Dexterous in performing an action, so as to escape notice
-
Done with, and marked by, artful and dexterous secrecy; subtle
a sly trick
- Light or delicate; slight; thin.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| slyest | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| sliest | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| slyer | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| sligh | alternative, obsolete | lexicographic | |
| slier | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic |
Deriveds
sly-grog · on the sly · unsly · sly fox · by the sly · slyboots · slyness · sly dog · slyish · sliness · sly as a fox
Synonyms
skillful · cunning · slim · shrewd · sharp · knowing · shifty · nimble · wily · artful · cautious · sly as a fox · crafty · shrewd
Translations (103)
fr espiègle (dexterous in performing an action, so as to escape notice; nimble) · sl zvit (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · mi mūrere (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · hy խորամանկ (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · tr kurnaz (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · no slu (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · fi viekas (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · sk prešibaný (dexterous in performing an action, so as to escape notice; nimble) · no listig (done with, and marked by, artful and dexterous secrecy) · eu azeri (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · it sornione (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · ca murri (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · be хі́тры (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · pt esperto (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · sk chytrý (dexterous in performing an action, so as to escape notice; nimble) · ga bradach (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · ru хи́трый (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · cmn 狡猾 (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · ar خَبِيث (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · uk лука́вий (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · sh лукав (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · mk лукав (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · pt manhoso (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · sl pretkan (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · sh препреден (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · enm sly (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · it furtivo (done with, and marked by, artful and dexterous secrecy) · fr malin (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · bg изкусен (done with, and marked by, artful and dexterous secrecy) · de gerissen (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · cu хꙑтръ (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · sk ľstivý (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · la callidus (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · es pillo (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · mi tītipa (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · got 𐌻𐌹𐍃𐍄𐌴𐌹𐌲𐍃 (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · es habilidoso (dexterous in performing an action, so as to escape notice; nimble) · enm sly (done with, and marked by, artful and dexterous secrecy) · ar مَاكِر (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · cmn 鬼黠 (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · de verschmitzt (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · la vafer (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · fr matois (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · ota آصمق (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · cmn 狡黠 (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · ga glic (dexterous in performing an action, so as to escape notice; nimble) · es astuto (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · fi ovela (dexterous in performing an action, so as to escape notice; nimble) · es listo (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · pdt schlau (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · bg лука́в (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · pl cwany (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · de listig (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · cs lstivý (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · no slu (dexterous in performing an action, so as to escape notice; nimble) · ko 교활하다 (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · ru кова́рный (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · ru лука́вый (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · arz مكار (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · fi ovela (done with, and marked by, artful and dexterous secrecy) · fr sournois (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · sk prešibaný (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · it furbo (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · it sornione (dexterous in performing an action, so as to escape notice; nimble) · ru ло́вкий (dexterous in performing an action, so as to escape notice; nimble) · ca astut (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · de schlau (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · nap 'mbruglione (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · bg хи́тър (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · sh lukav (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · pl chytry (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · cs prohnaný (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · izh veekas (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · hu ravasz (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · bg потаен (dexterous in performing an action, so as to escape notice; nimble) · izh kavala (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · sv slug (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · ota قورناز (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · enm sleighte (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · ru иску́сный (done with, and marked by, artful and dexterous secrecy) · pt astuto (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · uk хи́трий (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · no slu (done with, and marked by, artful and dexterous secrecy) · no sleip (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · eo ruza (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · yi כיטרע (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · sh lukav (dexterous in performing an action, so as to escape notice; nimble) · la versūtus (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · cu лѫкавъ (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · fr rusé (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · grc κίδαφος (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · enm sleighty (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · grc πανοῦργος (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · it subdolo (dexterous in performing an action, so as to escape notice; nimble) · ja 狡猾な (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · nl sluw (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · sh prepreden (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · ro viclean (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · arz خبيث (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · bg кова́рен (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · nrf seurnouais (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · ja 狡い (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily) · sa धूर्त (artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily)