Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The state or character of being wily; cunning; guile.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The quality or state of being wily; craftiness; cunning; guile.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun deceitful cleverness or shrewdness

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun shrewdness as demonstrated by being skilled in deception

Etymologies

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Examples

  • AGENT ORANGE: Despite my many letters to Congress, sheer wiliness is not technically illegal yet.

    Superhero Nation: how to write superhero novels and comic books » Would you like to suggest a writing article? (Sticky post) 2009

  • Clinton seemed like an unacceptable choice for President or Vp but as Secretary of State her wiliness could be a real asset to the country if Mr Obama is willing to put up with her drama.

    Monday Meeting for McCain and Obama - The Caucus Blog - NYTimes.com 2008

  • He still feels, moreover, some of the old "wiliness" and "unkemptness" within himself; he thinks they are of the Jews and of none others -- and he wants to get rid of them.

    The Menorah Journal, Volume 1, 1915 Various

  • For the wiliness which is understood to be Ody's forte also pre-eminently characterises many of the Tinkers 'nefarious proceedings, and this makes it seem to him that they not only set their wits against his, but throw discredit upon his favourite quality by the glaring moral defects which they exhibit in conjunction with it.

    Strangers at Lisconnel Jane Barlow 1887

  • The book, edited by a former aide, Derek Chollet, and the Pultizer-Prize winning journalist, Samantha Power, captures the essence of the Holbrooke persona that dazzled the foreign policy community with its drive, intelligence, wiliness, humor, intense curiosity and characteristic dominance.

    Stephen Schlesinger: Holbrooke's Saga Stephen Schlesinger 2012

  • The book, edited by a former aide, Derek Chollet, and the Pultizer-Prize winning journalist, Samantha Power, captures the essence of the Holbrooke persona that dazzled the foreign policy community with its drive, intelligence, wiliness, humor, intense curiosity and characteristic dominance.

    Stephen Schlesinger: Holbrooke's Saga Stephen Schlesinger 2012

  • But the point of his appearance was to underscore the need for creativity and a wiliness to challenge orthodoxy that is required by a clean energy future.

    Carl Pope: Will the Post-Oil World Also Be the Post-American World? Carl Pope 2012

  • The book, edited by a former aide, Derek Chollet, and the Pultizer-Prize winning journalist, Samantha Power, captures the essence of the Holbrooke persona that dazzled the foreign policy community with its drive, intelligence, wiliness, humor, intense curiosity and characteristic dominance.

    Stephen Schlesinger: Holbrooke's Saga Stephen Schlesinger 2012

  • But the point of his appearance was to underscore the need for creativity and a wiliness to challenge orthodoxy that is required by a clean energy future.

    Carl Pope: Will the Post-Oil World Also Be the Post-American World? Carl Pope 2012

  • The book, edited by a former aide, Derek Chollet, and the Pultizer-Prize winning journalist, Samantha Power, captures the essence of the Holbrooke persona that dazzled the foreign policy community with its drive, intelligence, wiliness, humor, intense curiosity and characteristic dominance.

    Stephen Schlesinger: Holbrooke's Saga Stephen Schlesinger 2012

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