devious

Meaning

1. Cunning or deceiving, not straightforward or honest, not frank.
2. (archaic) Roundabout, circuitous, deviating from the direct or ordinary route.

Synonyms

deceitful

sly

cunning

roundabout

circuitous

shifty

oblique

rogue

treacherous

duplicitous

treachery

tricky

deceptive

underhanded

slanting

crafty

indirect

wily

insidious

sneaky

sidelong

deceiving

tortuous

perfidious

disingenuous

aberrant

digressive

cockeyed

dexterous

discrepant

deviate

circular

aslant

deviant

delusory

degenerate

insincere

bevel

askew

anomalous

huggermugger

heinous

bastardly

gyratory

false

deadpan

fallacious

kinky

lateral

faithless

Translations

ambiguo

abwegig

tortueux

errato

rusé

verschlagen

murri

trompeur

détourné

fourbe

sournois

خادع

πλάγιος

roublard

subdolo

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈdiː.vi.əs/

Etymology

1590s, "out of the common or direct way," from Latin devius (“out of the way, remote, off the main road”), from de via, from de (“off”) (see de-) + via (“way, road”). Compare deviate. Originally in the Latin literal sense; the figurative sense of "deceitful" is first recorded 1630s. Related to deviously, deviousness. Figurative senses of the Latin word were "retired, sequestered, wandering in the byways, foolish, inconsistent."