cunning

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈkʌnɪŋ/ UK /ˈkʌnɪŋ/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
skilled in deception or ingenuity; craftiness

With cunning persistence, the fox outwitted the hounds.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · skilled in deception or... crafty sly wily shrewd artful devious

Opposites

naive artless ingenuous guileless

Word family

Forms cunningly

Derived forms cunninglycunningness

Related forms ken can

Appears in

Proverbs (1)

See all

The greatest cunning is to have none at all

Simplified etymology

Cunning probably comes from Old Norse kunnandi, “knowledge,” derived from kunna, “to know,” which is related to can. In the Middle Ages it meant learned or skilful, without implying deceit; the modern sense of slyness developed later.

Etymology

From Middle English cunnyng ('learned, skilful'), originally the present participle of cunnen ('to know, be able'), from Old English cunnan ('to know'), of Germanic origin.

cunnan Old English *kunnaną Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# cunning

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

## Meanings
1. skilled in deception or ingenuity; craftiness

## Examples
- With cunning persistence, the fox outwitted the hounds.

## Synonyms
- crafty
- sly
- wily
- shrewd
- artful
- devious

## Antonyms
- naive
- artless
- ingenuous
- guileless

## Derived Forms
- cunningly
- cunningness

## Related Forms
- ken
- can

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: cunnan
- Root: *kunnaną

## Etymology
From Middle English cunnyng ('learned, skilful'), originally the present participle of cunnen ('to know, be able'), from Old English cunnan ('to know'), of Germanic origin.

## AI Etymology
Cunning is from Middle English cunnyng ('learned, skilful'), originally the present participle of cunnen ('to know, be able'), from Old English cunnan ('to know'), of Germanic origin. In present-day use, it means skilled in deception or ingenuity; craftiness. Derived formations include cunningly and cunningness. Related vocabulary includes ken and can.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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