cunning

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈkʌnɪŋ/ UK /ˈkʌnɪŋ/ See IPA manual

adj noun

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

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

# cunning

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj, noun
**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

markdown

cunning

Meanings

Thesaurus

Etymology

Topics

Keyboard Shortcuts

General

Send feedback