tricksiness
Cunning and guile
Tricksiness is the quality of being tricky—crafty, deceptive, or cunningly evasive.
The word carries a playful or literary tone, often describing behavior that's mischievous rather than truly malicious: The tricksiness of the riddle delighted the children.
It can also suggest unreliability or slipperiness: the tricksiness of memory.
Sly, strategic dishonesty
- craftinessShrewd, devious cleverness
- shrewdnessKeen practical judgment
- foxinessShrewd, cunning nature
- astutenessShrewd perceptiveness
wiliness · slyness · artfulness · cleverness · caginess · subtlety · scheming · canniness
Deliberate misleading of others
- duplicityDeliberate misleading behavior
- chicaneryDeception through clever manipulation
- subterfugeDeliberate deception to conceal
- fraudulenceIntentional deception for gain
guile · imposture · dissembling · bamboozlement · flimflam · dupery · double-dealing · hoodwinking
Playful mischievous acts
- shenanigansMischievous or deceitful behavior
- tomfooleryFoolish or silly behavior
- anticsAbsurd, attention-seeking behavior
- impishnessPlayful mischievous quality
playfulness · naughtiness · roguishness · high jinks · monkeyshines · devilry · jesting · buffoonery
Lack of grip
- evasivenessTendency to avoid directness
- sneakinessFurtive, deceptive quality
- furtivenessSecretive, evasive behavior
- stealthinessUndetectable movement quality
caginess · covertness · dodginess · shiftiness · underhandedness · inscrutability · secretiveness · unpredictability
guile
Sly, strategic dishonesty
- craftinessShrewd, devious cleverness
- shrewdnessKeen practical judgment
- foxinessShrewd, cunning nature
astuteness · wiliness · slyness · artfulness · cleverness · caginess · subtlety · scheming · canniness · sharpness
deceit
Deliberate misleading of others
- duplicityDeliberate misleading behavior
- chicaneryDeception through clever manipulation
- subterfugeDeliberate deception to conceal
fraudulence · guile · imposture · dissembling · bamboozlement · flimflam · dupery · double-dealing · hoodwinking · feinting
pranks
Playful mischievous acts
- shenanigansMischievous or deceitful behavior
- tomfooleryFoolish or silly behavior
- anticsAbsurd, attention-seeking behavior
impishness · playfulness · naughtiness · roguishness · high jinks · monkeyshines · devilry · jesting · buffoonery · frolics
slipperiness
Lack of grip
- evasivenessTendency to avoid directness
- sneakinessFurtive, deceptive quality
- furtivenessSecretive, evasive behavior
stealthiness · caginess · covertness · dodginess · shiftiness · underhandedness · inscrutability · secretiveness · unpredictability · mercuriality
tricksinessstraightforwardness
Quality of being direct
directness · honesty · candor · forthrightness · frankness
tricksinessseriousness
Earnest, weighty demeanor
solemnity · earnestness · graveness · grimness · soberness
tricksinessdependability
Consistent trustworthy nature
reliability · trustworthiness · steadfastness · consistency · predictability
trick, tricky, trickery, tricked, trickster, tricking, trickiness, tricksters, tricksy