sly

[ slahy ]

/ slaɪ /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR sly ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, sly·er, sly·est.

cunning or wily: sly as a fox.

stealthy, insidious, or secret.

playfully artful, mischievous, or roguish: sly humor.

Idioms for sly

on the sly, secretly; furtively: a tryst on the sly.

Origin of sly

1150–1200; Middle English sly, sley, from Old Norse slœgr “sly, cunning” (originally “able to strike, able to slay”); see slay

SYNONYMS FOR sly

1 artful, subtle, foxy, crafty, shrewd, astute.

2 surreptitious, furtive, underhand, clandestine.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR sly ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR sly

1 direct, obvious.

SEE ANTONYMS FOR sly ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM sly

sly·ly, adverb sly·ness, noun un·sly, adjective, un·sly·er, un·sly·est. un·sly·ly, adverb

un·sly·ness, noun

Words nearby sly

slut, slut-shame, slutch, sluter, slutty, sly, sly grog, sly-grog, slyboots, slyly, slype

Example sentences from the Web for sly

Rambo movie marathon—11 am-12 am, AMCBecause nothing says the holidays like Sly Stallone and blood.

The Ultimate Thanksgiving Weekend TV Guide: Must-See Marathons, Specials, and Parades |Kevin Fallon |November 26, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Her songs draw on Stevie Wonder, the Jackson 5, Sly Stone, Curtis Mayfield, and contemporary hip-hop.

In the Backseat With Janelle Monae: A Limo Ride with the Stylish R&B Diva |Douglas Wolk |April 28, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Are its users loud and proud harbingers of the sex-tech revolution, or just people who want to get a bit freaky on the sly?

Hook Up Apps Have Gone Too Far |Charlotte Lytton |March 7, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
In fact, some of us would like to think that Fallon meant it as a sly dig and knew exactly what he was asking.

Can Jimmy Fallon Be Himself on ‘The Tonight Show’? |Tom Shales |February 17, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

Her sly, skewering banter and provocative cynicism were her defense in a male-dominated profession and also her selling point.

Tallulah Bankhead: Gay, Drunk and Liberated in an Era of Excess Art |Judith Mackrell |January 25, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
No, no, my sly cub; you don't bamboozle an old bear so easily as all that.

The Red Moccasins |Morrison Heady
His Sir Pertinax was excellent in its sly and deadly suppleness.

Haunted London |Walter Thornbury
I kinder larfed in my sleeve to hear the sly coot try to come round, and find out who I was and all about me.

Highlife in New York: a series of letters to Mr. Zephariah Slick, |Ann S. Stephens
There is less stealing, the goods being more in common, only sometimes a sly rifling of pockets by the unpaid wife.

The home |Charlotte Perkins Gilman
His dereliction, if any, might consist in sly tapping of the wine-cellar.

Whispering Wires |Henry Leverage

British Dictionary definitions for sly

sly

/ (slaɪ) /

adjective slyer, slyest, slier or sliest

crafty; artful a sly dodge

insidious; furtive a sly manner

playfully mischievous; roguish sly humour

noun

on the sly in a secretive manner

Derived forms of sly

slyly or slily, adverb slyness, noun

Word Origin for sly

C12: from Old Norse slǣgr clever, literally: able to strike, from slā to slay

Idioms and Phrases with sly

sly

see on the sly.

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

sly

adjective, sly·er, sly·est.

Idioms for sly

Origin of sly

SYNONYMS FOR sly

ANTONYMS FOR sly

OTHER WORDS FROM sly

Words nearby sly

Example sentences from the Web for sly

British Dictionary definitions for sly

adjective slyer, slyest, slier or sliest

noun

Derived forms of sly

Word Origin for sly

Idioms and Phrases with sly

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

sly

adjective, sly·er, sly·est.

Idioms for sly

Origin of sly

SYNONYMS FOR sly

ANTONYMS FOR sly

OTHER WORDS FROM sly

Words nearby sly

Words related to sly

Example sentences from the Web for sly

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for sly

adjective slyer, slyest, slier or sliest

noun

Derived forms of sly

Word Origin for sly

Idioms and Phrases with sly

British Dictionary definitions for sly