US /slaɪt/
noun Freq #33455

Meanings

  1. 1
    noun

    skillful use of the hands, especially in performing tricks

    The magician's sleight made the coin disappear.

  2. 2
    noun

    a clever trick or deceptive artifice

    The argument depended on a sleight of wording.

Thesaurus

Synonyms
1 noun · skillful use of the hands,... dexteritylegerdemain
2 noun · a clever trick or deceptive... trickerycunning
Opposites
Word family
Derived forms sleightful
Related forms sleightlysleighty

Etymology

From Middle English sleighte, sleyght, sleythe, from Old Norse slœgð (“cunning”), from Proto-Germanic *slōgiþō, from *slōgiz (“cunning”) (whence English sly). Doublet of sly and slöjd/sloyd.

Topics

markdown

Send feedback

Optional — only if you'd like a reply.