knavish C2 Topic:Describing Qualities US /ˈneɪ.vɪʃ/ UK /ˈneɪ.vɪʃ/ See IPA manual Freq #94624 Meanings 1 adj dishonest, deceitful, or unscrupulous The knavish broker concealed the fees until the contract was signed. 2 adj mischievously roguish or impertinent, especially in literary use A knavish grin spread across the boy's face as he hid the key. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 adj · dishonest, deceitful, or... dishonestdeceitfulunprincipled 2 adj · mischievously roguish or... roguishmischievousrascally ↔ Opposites honesthonorableupright Word family Derived forms knavishlyknavishness Related forms knaveroguerascal Etymology From Middle English knavyssh or knavish, formed from knave + -ish. Knave once meant a boy or servant, but its later sense of a dishonest man gave knavish its usual moral force. Topics Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives Register & Style External links Google Images Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary # knavish **Type:** Word **Level:** C2 **Part of speech:** adj **IPA (US):** /ˈneɪ.vɪʃ/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈneɪ.vɪʃ/ **Frequency rank:** 94624 ## Meanings 1. dishonest, deceitful, or unscrupulous 2. mischievously roguish or impertinent, especially in literary use ## Examples - The knavish broker concealed the fees until the contract was signed. - A knavish grin spread across the boy's face as he hid the key. ## Synonyms - dishonest - deceitful - roguish - rascally ## Antonyms - honest - honorable - upright ## Derived Forms - knavishly - knavishness ## Related Forms - knave - rogue - rascal ## Etymology From Middle English knavyssh or knavish, formed from knave + -ish. Knave once meant a boy or servant, but its later sense of a dishonest man gave knavish its usual moral force. ## Topics - Describing Qualities - Word Formation & Derivatives - Register & Style markdown