crafty

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈkræfti/ UK /ˈkrɑːfti/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
clever at achieving aims by deceit or indirect means

A crafty negotiator, he secured the deal without revealing his hand.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · clever at achieving aims by... cunning sly wily devious artful shrewd scheming

Opposites

honest artless naive ingenuous straightforward

Word family

Forms craftily

Derived forms craftilycraftiness

Related forms craft handicraft

Etymology

From Old English 'craeftig' ('strong, skillful'), from 'craeft' ('skill, art'). The modern sense 'cunning' developed from the idea of clever, artful skill.

cræftig Old English cræft Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# crafty

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈkræfti/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈkrɑːfti/

## Meanings
1. clever at achieving aims by deceit or indirect means

## Examples
- A crafty negotiator, he secured the deal without revealing his hand.

## Synonyms
- cunning
- sly
- wily
- devious
- artful
- shrewd
- scheming

## Antonyms
- honest
- artless
- naive
- ingenuous
- straightforward

## Derived Forms
- craftily
- craftiness

## Related Forms
- craft
- handicraft

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: cræftig
- Root: cræft

## Etymology
From Old English 'craeftig' ('strong, skillful'), from 'craeft' ('skill, art'). The modern sense 'cunning' developed from the idea of clever, artful skill.

## AI Etymology
Crafty is an adjective meaning "clever at achieving aims by deceit or indirect means". Historically, it is from Old English 'craeftig' ('strong, skillful'), from 'craeft' ('skill, art'). The modern sense 'cunning' developed from the idea of clever, artful skill. The semantic history matters here: the earlier use is the starting point, and the modern sense, "clever at achieving aims by deceit or indirect means", is the later or specialized English value. The historical chain links Old English cræftig with Old English cræft. Close English family members include craftily, craftiness, craft, and handicraft.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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