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Antonyms for sly


Grammar : Adj
Spell : slahy
Phonetic Transcription : slaɪ



Definition of sly

Origin :
  • c.1200, "skillful, clever, dexterous," from Old Norse sloegr "cunning, crafty, sly," from Proto-Germanic *slogis (cf. Low German slu "cunning, sly," German schlau), probably from base *slak- "to strike, hit" (see slay (v.)), with an original notion of "able to hit." Cf. German verschlagen "cunning, crafty, sly," schlagfertig "quick-witted," literally "strike-ready," from schlagen "to strike." A non-pejorative use of the word lingered in northern English dialect until 20c. On the sly "in secret" is recorded from 1812. Sly-boots "a seeming Silly, but subtil Fellow" is in the 1700 "Dictionary of the Canting Crew."
  • adj clever, devious
Example sentences :
  • "Let them sleep in the bed of honor," said the Princess Medea, with a sly smile at Jason.
  • Extract from : « Tanglewood Tales » by Nathaniel Hawthorne
  • The sly, wicked Mimi came slinking to the place where the dragon lay.
  • Extract from : « Opera Stories from Wagner » by Florence Akin
  • I know her sly manner of feeling her way with those gloves of hers.
  • Extract from : « Little Dorrit » by Charles Dickens
  • The faces seemed to have but one smile, conscious, sly, a little alarmed.
  • Extract from : « The Coryston Family » by Mrs. Humphry Ward
  • But I had only to open my lips to speak, and away she would run, with a sly smile.
  • Extract from : « A Hero of Our Time » by M. Y. Lermontov
  • You have to visit your disreputable cousin on the sly, have you?
  • Extract from : « The Prisoner of Zenda » by Anthony Hope
  • All the sly blabbing, all the vague chatter of sacristies resounded in his ears.
  • Extract from : « The Fortune of the Rougons » by Emile Zola
  • What a sly devil I was to stow that treasure away for a rainy day!
  • Extract from : « Captain Brand of the "Centipede" » by H. A. (Henry Augustus) Wise
  • “Yes; the same hands,” with a sly smile at his own private joke.
  • Extract from : « Cap'n Warren's Wards » by Joseph C. Lincoln
  • Crawford had written that this photograph, too, had been taken on the sly.
  • Extract from : « Mary-'Gusta » by Joseph C. Lincoln

Synonyms for sly

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019