cunning

Meaning

Adj

1. Sly; crafty; clever in surreptitious behaviour.
2. (obsolete) Skillful, artful.
3. (obsolete) Wrought with, or exhibiting, skill or ingenuity; ingenious.
4. (Maine, colloquial, dated) Cute, appealing.

Noun

1. (countable, uncountable) Practical knowledge or experience; aptitude in performance; skill, proficiency; dexterity.
2. (countable, uncountable) Practical skill employed in a secret or crafty manner; craft; artifice; skillful deceit; art or magic.
3. (countable, uncountable) The disposition to employ one's skill in an artful manner; craftiness; guile; artifice; skill of being cunning, sly, conniving, or deceitful.
4. (countable, uncountable) The natural wit or instincts of an animal.
5. (countable, obsolete, uncountable) Knowledge; learning; special knowledge (sometimes implying occult or magical knowledge).

Synonyms

sly

crafty

shrewd

wily

clever

craftiness

tricky

craft

slyness

smart

astute

guile

artful

foxy

deceitful

trick

deceit

skillful

sharp

artifice

artfulness

canny

shifty

dodgy

nimble

cautious

cagey

trickery

calculating

wiliness

devious

cleverness

skill

cute

sneaky

wiles

slick

ingenious

guileful

astuteness

knavish

skillfulness

shrewdness

foxiness

subtle

ruse

resourceful

alert

stratagem

tricksy

Translations

schlau

rusé

listig

astuto

furbo

malin

astuto

astuto

abgefeimt

arglistig

gewitzt

gerissen

astucieux

listig

gewiegt

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈkʌnɪŋ/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: cunning

Inherited from Middle English: cunninde

Inherited from Old English: cunnende

Cognate with Scots: cunnand

Cognate with German: könnend

Cognate with Icelandic: kunnandi

Inherited from Old English: *cunning

Inherited from Old English: cunnung

In summary

From Middle English cunning, kunning, konnyng, alteration of earlier Middle English cunninde, kunnende, cunnand, from Old English cunnende, present participle of cunnan (“to know how to, be able to”), equivalent to con + -ing. Cognate with Scots cunnand (“cunning”), German könnend (“able to do”), Icelandic kunnandi (“cunning”). More at con, can.