wily Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. adjective satellite marked by skill in deception
    tricky; knavish; sly; slick; foxy; guileful; tricksy; dodgy; crafty; cunning.
    • cunning men often pass for wise
    • deep political machinations
    • a foxy scheme
    • a slick evasive answer
    • sly as a fox
    • tricky Dick
    • a wily old attorney

WordNet

Wil"y adjective
Etymology
From Wile.
Wordforms
comparative Wilier ; superlative Wiliest
Definitions
  1. Full of wiles, tricks, or stratagems; using craft or stratagem to accomplish a purpose; mischievously artful; subtle. "Wily and wise." Chaucer. "The wily snake." Milton.
    This false, wily, doubling disposition of mind. South.
    Syn. -- Cunning; artful; sly; crafty. See Cunning.

Webster 1913