weasel
Ferret's wild cousin
A weasel is a small, slender carnivorous mammal with short legs and a long body, known for hunting rodents and rabbits.
The weasel's reputation for cunning and evasiveness gives rise to figurative uses: a weasel is a sneaky, untrustworthy person.
To weasel is to evade or escape from something: He weaseled out of his promise.
Weasel words are deliberately vague language meant to mislead without technically lying.
Color-changing weasel kin
- ermineWeasel prized for pelage
- ferretDomesticated weasel kept as pet
- minkFur-bearing aquatic weasel
- polecatMusky weasel relative
marten · sable · badger · otter · wolverine · skunk · fisher · pine marten
Cleverly deceptive
- craftyCleverly deceptive
- deviousUnderhanded and calculating
- schemingCrafty and calculating
- wilySkilled at deception
shrewd · cunning · conniving · calculating · sneaky · underhanded · guileful · foxy
Speak vaguely to mislead
- hedgeBoundary of planted shrubs
- waffleGridded breakfast cake
- dodgeAvoid by quick movement
- evadeEscape by cunning
prevaricate · backpedal · cop out · sidestep · fudge · obfuscate · mislead · qualify
stoat
Color-changing weasel kin
polecat · marten · sable · badger · otter · wolverine · skunk · fisher · pine marten · honey badger
sly
Cleverly deceptive
wily · shrewd · cunning · conniving · calculating · sneaky · underhanded · guileful · foxy · slippery
equivocate
Speak vaguely to mislead
evade · prevaricate · backpedal · cop out · sidestep · fudge · obfuscate · mislead · qualify · backtrack
hunt
Pursuit of quarry
mouse · rabbit · rat · burrow · den · carnivore · pounce · stalk · kill · raid
slender
Thin and graceful
elongated · streamlined · agile · nimble · flexible · slinky · svelte · lean · narrow · tubular
- Eurasian wildlifeSiberian tiger, giant panda, red panda, snow leopard, Asian elephant
- scoundrelsscoundrel, rogue, knave, cad, villain
- long and thineel, earthworm, snake, worm, centipede
- mesocarnivoresraccoon, fox, badger, skunk, marten
- Mustelidsferret, otter, badger, stoat, mink
- mammalsbears, bats, sheep, cats, anteater
weaselstraight shooter
Forthright, blunt person
stand-up guy · mensch · honest broker · truth-teller · man of honor
weaselconfront
Face squarely, address directly
face · stand firm · own up · take responsibility · step up
- weasel outEvade through cunning
- weasel wordsDeliberately vague qualifiers
- weasel wordingDeceptively imprecise language
- weasel clauseDeliberately vague contract language
- weasel familyCarnivorous mammals including badgers
- weasel wordedDeceptively noncommittal phrasing
weasels, weaseled, weaseling, weaselly, weaselled, weaselling, weasel-like, weasellike, weasel words