Transcription
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- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
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- [slahy]
- /slaɪ/
- /slaɪ/
-
- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
-
- [slahy]
- /slaɪ/
Definitions of sly word
- adjective sly cunning or wily: sly as a fox. 1
- adjective sly stealthy, insidious, or secret. 1
- adjective sly playfully artful, mischievous, or roguish: sly humor. 1
- idioms sly on the sly, secretly; furtively: a tryst on the sly. 1
- adjective sly person: deceiving 1
- abbreviation SLY smart 1
Information block about the term
Origin of sly
First appearance:
before 1150 One of the 7% oldest English words
1150-1200; Middle English sly, sley, from Old Norse slœgr “sly, cunning” (originally “able to strike, able to slay”); see slay
Historical Comparancy
Parts of speech for Sly
noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
sly popularity
A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 92% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.
Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".
sly usage trend in Literature
This diagram is provided by Google Ngram ViewerSynonyms for sly
adj sly
- amoral — If you describe someone as amoral, you do not like the way they behave because they do not seem to care whether what they do is right or wrong.
- artful — If you describe someone as artful, you mean that they are clever and skilful at achieving what they want, especially by deceiving people.
- backdoor — You can use backdoor to describe an action or process if you disapprove of it because you think it has been done in a secret, indirect, or dishonest way.
- backstairs — a secondary staircase in a house, esp one originally for the use of servants
- cagey — If you say that someone is being cagey about something, you mean that you think they are deliberately not giving you much information or expressing an opinion about it.
adjective sly
- arch — An arch is a structure that is curved at the top and is supported on either side by a pillar, post, or wall.
- argute — (of sounds) shrill
- astucious — Subtle; cunning; astute.
- casuistical — Casuistic.
- clandestine — Something that is clandestine is hidden or kept secret, often because it is illegal.
noun sly
verb sly
- worming — Zoology. any of numerous long, slender, soft-bodied, legless, bilaterally symmetrical invertebrates, including the flatworms, roundworms, acanthocephalans, nemerteans, gordiaceans, and annelids.
Antonyms for sly
adj sly
- ingenuous — free from reserve, restraint, or dissimulation; candid; sincere.
Top questions with sly
- what does sly mean?
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