deviousness
Underhanded cunning ways
Deviousness is the quality of being sneaky, underhanded, or willing to use indirect methods to achieve one's ends.
It suggests cunning calculation rather than straightforward action: I underestimated her deviousness.
The word carries negative connotations—someone praised for cleverness might be condemned for deviousness depending on whose side you're on.
Keen practical judgment
- astutenessShrewd perceptiveness
- craftinessShrewd, devious cleverness
- wilinessShrewd deceptive cleverness
- foxinessShrewd, cunning nature
cleverness · caginess · artfulness · calculating · strategic · resourceful · savvy · acumen
Crafty and calculating
- connivingSecretly planning wrongdoing
- calculatingColdly self-serving in strategy
- controllingExerting authority over others
- exploitativeUnfairly using others' vulnerabilities
coercive · maneuvering · machinating · masterminding · insidious · underhanded · intriguing · persuasive
Deliberate misleading of others
- duplicityDeliberate misleading behavior
- dishonestyDisposition toward falsehood
- dissemblingConcealing true motives
- lyingStating known falsehoods
falseness · treachery · betrayal · double-dealing · two-faced · perfidy · mendacity · insincerity
Deliberate deception to conceal
- chicaneryDeception through clever manipulation
- artificeClever deceptive strategy
- ruseDeliberate act of deception
- ployCalculated deceptive tactic
stratagem · hoax · fraud · swindle · scam · bamboozle · flimflam · dupery
Stealthily deceptive
- furtiveSecretive and sly
- covertIntentionally concealed
- secretiveInclined to conceal
- stealthySecretly cautious in movement
clandestine · surreptitious · hidden · veiled · cloaked · undercover · shadowy · oblique
shrewdness
Keen practical judgment
- astutenessShrewd perceptiveness
- craftinessShrewd, devious cleverness
- wilinessShrewd deceptive cleverness
foxiness · cleverness · caginess · artfulness · calculating · strategic · resourceful · savvy · acumen · sharpness
scheming
Crafty and calculating
- connivingSecretly planning wrongdoing
- calculatingColdly self-serving in strategy
- controllingExerting authority over others
exploitative · coercive · maneuvering · machinating · masterminding · insidious · underhanded · intriguing · persuasive · influencing
deceit
Deliberate misleading of others
- duplicityDeliberate misleading behavior
- dishonestyDisposition toward falsehood
- dissemblingConcealing true motives
lying · falseness · treachery · betrayal · double-dealing · two-faced · perfidy · mendacity · insincerity · disingenuousness
subterfuge
Deliberate deception to conceal
- chicaneryDeception through clever manipulation
- artificeClever deceptive strategy
- ruseDeliberate act of deception
ploy · stratagem · hoax · fraud · swindle · scam · bamboozle · flimflam · dupery · skulduggery
sneaky
Stealthily deceptive
stealthy · clandestine · surreptitious · hidden · veiled · cloaked · undercover · shadowy · oblique · evasive
- deceptionlie, lies, lying, fake, fraud
- cunningcunning, craftiness, crafty, guile, slyness
- deceptionslie, lies, lying, deceit, decoy
- mental sharpnessmental agility, mental clarity, mental focus, acumen, sharp mind
deviousnessstraightforwardness
Quality of being direct
directness · forthrightness · candor · bluntness · frankness
deviousnesshonesty
Truthfulness, sincerity
sincerity · integrity · truthfulness · guilelessness · trustworthiness
deviousnessingenuousness
Innocent frankness, without cunning
innocence · naivety · artlessness · simplicity · guilelessness
devious, deviate, deviation, deviant, deviance, deviating, deviated, deviates, deviously