51Թ

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View synonyms for

sly

[ slahy ]

adjective

comparative: slyer or slier superlative: slyest or sliest
  1. cunning or wily:

    sly as a fox.

    Synonyms: , , , , ,

    Antonyms: ,

  2. stealthy, insidious, or secret.

    Synonyms: , , ,

  3. playfully artful, mischievous, or roguish:

    sly humor.



sly

/ ɪ /

adjective

  1. crafty; artful

    a sly dodge

  2. insidious; furtive

    a sly manner

  3. playfully mischievous; roguish

    sly humour

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. on the sly
    in a secretive manner
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Derived Forms

  • ˈ, adverb
  • ˈԱ, noun
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Other 51Թ Forms

  • l adverb
  • n noun
  • ܲ· adjective unslyer unslyest
  • un·l adverb
  • un·n noun
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51Թ History and Origins

Origin of sly1

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English sly, sley , from Old Norse ղ “sly, cunning” (originally “able to strike, able to slay”); slay ( def )
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51Թ History and Origins

Origin of sly1

C12: from Old Norse ǣ clever, literally: able to strike, from to slay
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Idioms and Phrases

  1. on the sly, secretly;

    a tryst on the sly.

More idioms and phrases containing sly

see on the sly .
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

“He was the right person at the right time for our club,” manager Dave Roberts said before the game, cracking a sly grin.

From

Like anchovies or miso, sun-dried tomatoes work best when they aren’t the star, but the sly supporting player.

From

Hefti has titled the work “Five things you can’t wear on TV,” a sly reference to cautions against wearing pinstripes on camera, lest moiré patterns interfere with a television monitor’s crisp electronic imagery.

From

That sounded like a sly attempt by the plaintiffs to put more pressure on the red states to make their own case for the wholesale destructiveness of the NIH order, in public.

From

He met my happy laugh with a sly one and said just enough for me to imagine the scene: Atlanta apartment, twin bed, 1971.

From

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Related 51Թs

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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