Definitions for cunning
ˈkʌn ɪŋcun·ning

Princeton's WordNet(2.80 / 5 votes)Rate this definition:

1. craft, craftiness, cunning, foxiness, guile, slyness, wiliness(noun)

   shrewdness as demonstrated by being skilled in deception

2. cunning(adj)

   crafty artfulness (especially in deception)

3. cunning, cute(adj)

   attractive especially by means of smallness or prettiness or quaintness

   "a cute kid with pigtails"; "a cute little apartment"; "cunning kittens"; "a cunning baby"

4. crafty, cunning, dodgy, foxy, guileful, knavish, slick, sly, tricksy, tricky, wily(adj)

   marked by skill in deception

   "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"

5. clever, cunning, ingenious(adj)

   showing inventiveness and skill

   "a clever gadget"; "the cunning maneuvers leading to his success"; "an ingenious solution to the problem"

Webster Dictionary(4.50 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Cunning(adj)

   knowing; skillful; dexterous

   Etymology: [AS. cunnung trial, or Icel. kunnandi knowledge. See Cunning, a.]

2. Cunning(adj)

   wrought with, or exhibiting, skill or ingenuity; ingenious; curious; as, cunning work

   Etymology: [AS. cunnung trial, or Icel. kunnandi knowledge. See Cunning, a.]

3. Cunning(adj)

   crafty; sly; artful; designing; deceitful

   Etymology: [AS. cunnung trial, or Icel. kunnandi knowledge. See Cunning, a.]

4. Cunning(adj)

   pretty or pleasing; as, a cunning little boy

   Etymology: [AS. cunnung trial, or Icel. kunnandi knowledge. See Cunning, a.]

5. Cunning(adj)

   knowledge; art; skill; dexterity

   Etymology: [AS. cunnung trial, or Icel. kunnandi knowledge. See Cunning, a.]

6. Cunning(adj)

   the faculty or act of using stratagem to accomplish a purpose; fraudulent skill or dexterity; deceit; craft

   Etymology: [AS. cunnung trial, or Icel. kunnandi knowledge. See Cunning, a.]

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Cunning

   Cunning was a Japanese comedy duo from Fukuoka Prefecture. Cunning consisted of the pudgy, short-tempered Takanori Takeyama, and the rail-thin Tadayuki Nakashima. Known for his bursts of extreme anger, though said to be much more sedated off-camera, Takeyama is the boke of the unit. The tsukkomi, Nakashima, fell ill with leukemia in 2005 and took indefinite leave from work until his death from pneumonia on December 20, 2006, aged 35. The name of the duo, cunning, while meaning "sly" or "clever" in English, refers to the act of cheating on a test in Japanese.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Cunning

   kun′ing, adj. knowing: skilful: artful: crafty.—n. knowledge: skill: faculty of using stratagem to accomplish a purpose: artifice.—adv. Cunn′ingly.—n. Cunn′ingness, quality of being cunning: artfulness, slyness. [A.S. cunnan, to know.]

Editors Contribution(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. cunning

   crafty

   Submitted by raulesparza6634 on September 23, 2019  

How to pronounce cunning?

1. 

   Alex

   US English

   

   Daniel

   British

   

   Karen

   Australian

   

   Veena

   Indian

How to say cunning in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of cunning in Chaldean Numerology is: 1

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of cunning in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1

Examples of cunning in a Sentence

1. Lydia Child:

   None speak of the bravery, the might, or the intellect of Jesus; but the devil is always imagined as a being of acute intellect, political cunning, and the fiercest courage. These universal and instinctive tendencies of the human mind reveal much.

2. Vikrant Parsai:

   A man one year elder to you is one cunning year elder to you.

3. Cesare Pavese:

   Literature is a defense against the attacks of life. It says to life: You can't deceive me. I know your habits, foresee and enjoy watching all your reactions, and steal your secret by involving you in cunning obstructions that halt your normal flow.

4. Lee Bates:

   He is a very cunning and dangerous individual.

5. Sheldon Adelson:

   He's extremely clever, and I think he's so clever and cunning he should be a fictional book writer.

Images & Illustrations of cunning

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