wiliness
Fox-like clever deception
Wiliness is the quality of being wily—crafty, cunning, and skilled at achieving goals through clever maneuvering.
It suggests shrewdness rather than straightforward dealing: The fox's wiliness made it nearly impossible to trap.
The word can be admiring or suspicious depending on context—a negotiator's wiliness might be an asset, while a politician's wiliness invites distrust.
Cleverly deceptive
- craftyCleverly deceptive
- artfulCleverly deceptive
- deviousUnderhanded and calculating
- sneakyStealthily deceptive
scheming · conniving · foxy · calculating · cagey · underhanded · manipulative · slippery
Deliberate deception or fraud
- deceitDeliberate misleading of others
- subterfugeDeliberate deception to conceal
- chicaneryDeception through clever manipulation
- fraudIntentional criminal trickery
hoax · ruse · ploy · stratagem · feint · duplicity · pretense · misdirection
Shrewd perceptiveness
- shrewdnessKeen practical judgment
- acumenSharpness of mind
- sharpnessKeenness of edge, mind, or image
- clevernessMental quickness and skill
sagacity · perspicacity · keenness · quick-wittedness · resourcefulness · ingenuity · street smarts · savvy
Skillful directional control
- schemingCrafty and calculating
- plottingDevising a secret plan
- strategizingFormulating tactical approaches
- outmaneuveringDefeating through superior tactics
outwitting · outfoxing · gamesmanship · machination · intrigue · calculation · positioning · exploitation
sly
Cleverly deceptive
sneaky · scheming · conniving · foxy · calculating · cagey · underhanded · manipulative · slippery · treacherous
trickery
Deliberate deception or fraud
- deceitDeliberate misleading of others
- subterfugeDeliberate deception to conceal
- chicaneryDeception through clever manipulation
fraud · hoax · ruse · ploy · stratagem · feint · duplicity · pretense · misdirection · bluff
astuteness
Shrewd perceptiveness
- shrewdnessKeen practical judgment
- acumenSharpness of mind
- sharpnessKeenness of edge, mind, or image
cleverness · sagacity · perspicacity · keenness · quick-wittedness · resourcefulness · ingenuity · street smarts · savvy · perceptiveness
maneuvering
Skillful directional control
- schemingCrafty and calculating
- plottingDevising a secret plan
- strategizingFormulating tactical approaches
outmaneuvering · outwitting · outfoxing · gamesmanship · machination · intrigue · calculation · positioning · exploitation · leverage
- cunningcunning, craftiness, crafty, guile, slyness
- intellectintelligence, intellect, brainpower, mind, cognition
- mental sharpnessmental agility, mental clarity, mental focus, acumen, sharp mind
wilinesshonesty
Truthfulness, sincerity
integrity · truthfulness · sincerity · forthrightness · uprightness
wilinessdirectness
Quality of being straightforward
candor · frankness · forthrightness · honesty · openness
wilinessguilelessness
Absence of cunning
artlessness · ingenuousness · naivete · innocence · naivety
wily, beguiling, wiles, guileful, wile, beguiled, beguiler, beguilers, beguiles