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take a powder

EnglishMerriam-Webster Dictionary

um' aria-hidden='true'>2 characterized by wiliness and trickery //cunning schemes //… there's the cunning brevity of the chapters—a hundred and twenty-nine of them—that makes a long story zip by. — Anthony Lane

displaying keen insight //a cunning observation

prettily appealing cute //a cunning little kitten

noun

Definition (Entry 2 of 2)

dexterous skill and subtlety (as in inventing, devising, or executing) //To go in knowing little or nothing about the play may be the purest way to experience its dramatic cunning. — Naveen Kumar //Her knowledge was born of vast experience, the natural cunning of a survivor. — Brian Jacques
ability to mislead, trap, or escape an enemy or opponent craft, slyness //Few fish can match the blazing speed of a mako, the sheer power of a great white, or the great cunning of a tiger shark. — William McKeever
obsolete
knowledge, learning
magic art

Other Words

Adjective

cunningly ˈkə-niŋ-lē adverb //They cunningly dodged our questions.
cunningness noun

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms: Adjective

artful beguiling cagey (also cagy) crafty cute designing devious dodgy [chiefly British] foxy guileful scheming shrewd slick sly subtle tricky wily

Synonyms: Noun

artfulness artifice caginess (also cageyness) canniness craft craftiness cunningness deviousness foxiness guile guilefulness slickness slyness sneakiness subtleness subtlety wiliness

Antonyms: Adjective

artless guileless ingenuous innocent undesigning

Examples

Adjective

//She was cunning enough to fool me.
//a cunning, underhanded plan to win the election by preying on people's fears and prejudices

Noun

//He may be a fraud, but you have to admire his cunning.
//the cunning with which Tom Sawyer was able to get others to whitewash the fence for him

First Known Use

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

displaying keen insight //a cunning observation

prettily appealing cute //a cunning little kitten

noun

Definition (Entry 2 of 2)

dexterous skill and subtlety (as in inventing, devising, or executing) //To go in knowing little or nothing about the play may be the purest way to experience its dramatic cunning. — Naveen Kumar //Her knowledge was born of vast experience, the natural cunning of a survivor. — Brian Jacques
ability to mislead, trap, or escape an enemy or opponent craft, slyness //Few fish can match the blazing speed of a mako, the sheer power of a great white, or the great cunning of a tiger shark. — William McKeever
obsolete
knowledge, learning
magic art

Other Words

Adjective

cunningly ˈkə-niŋ-lē adverb //They cunningly dodged our questions.
cunningness noun

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms: Adjective

artful beguiling cagey (also cagy) crafty cute designing devious dodgy [chiefly British] foxy guileful scheming shrewd slick sly subtle tricky wily

Synonyms: Noun

artfulness artifice caginess (also cageyness) canniness craft craftiness cunningness deviousness foxiness guile guilefulness slickness slyness sneakiness subtleness subtlety wiliness

Antonyms: Adjective

artless guileless ingenuous innocent undesigning

Examples

Adjective

//She was cunning enough to fool me.
//a cunning, underhanded plan to win the election by preying on people's fears and prejudices

Noun

//He may be a fraud, but you have to admire his cunning.
//the cunning with which Tom Sawyer was able to get others to whitewash the fence for him

First Known Use

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

displaying keen insight //a cunning observation

prettily appealing cute //a cunning little kitten

noun

Definition (Entry 2 of 2)

dexterous skill and subtlety (as in inventing, devising, or executing) //To go in knowing little or nothing about the play may be the purest way to experience its dramatic cunning. — Naveen Kumar //Her knowledge was born of vast experience, the natural cunning of a survivor. — Brian Jacques
ability to mislead, trap, or escape an enemy or opponent craft, slyness //Few fish can match the blazing speed of a mako, the sheer power of a great white, or the great cunning of a tiger shark. — William McKeever
obsolete
knowledge, learning
magic art

Other Words

Adjective

cunningly ˈkə-niŋ-lē adverb //They cunningly dodged our questions.
cunningness noun

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms: Adjective

artful beguiling cagey (also cagy) crafty cute designing devious dodgy [chiefly British] foxy guileful scheming shrewd slick sly subtle tricky wily

Synonyms: Noun

artfulness artifice caginess (also cageyness) canniness craft craftiness cunningness deviousness foxiness guile guilefulness slickness slyness sneakiness subtleness subtlety wiliness

Antonyms: Adjective

artless guileless ingenuous innocent undesigning

Examples

Adjective

//She was cunning enough to fool me.
//a cunning, underhanded plan to win the election by preying on people's fears and prejudices

Noun

//He may be a fraud, but you have to admire his cunning.
//the cunning with which Tom Sawyer was able to get others to whitewash the fence for him

First Known Use

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

displaying keen insight //a cunning observation

prettily appealing cute //a cunning little kitten

noun

Definition (Entry 2 of 2)

dexterous skill and subtlety (as in inventing, devising, or executing) //To go in knowing little or nothing about the play may be the purest way to experience its dramatic cunning. — Naveen Kumar //Her knowledge was born of vast experience, the natural cunning of a survivor. — Brian Jacques
ability to mislead, trap, or escape an enemy or opponent craft, slyness //Few fish can match the blazing speed of a mako, the sheer power of a great white, or the great cunning of a tiger shark. — William McKeever
obsolete
knowledge, learning
magic art

Other Words

Adjective

cunningly ˈkə-niŋ-lē adverb //They cunningly dodged our questions.
cunningness noun

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms: Adjective

artful beguiling cagey (also cagy) crafty cute designing devious dodgy [chiefly British] foxy guileful scheming shrewd slick sly subtle tricky wily

Synonyms: Noun

artfulness artifice caginess (also cageyness) canniness craft craftiness cunningness deviousness foxiness guile guilefulness slickness slyness sneakiness subtleness subtlety wiliness

Antonyms: Adjective

artless guileless ingenuous innocent undesigning

Examples

Adjective

//She was cunning enough to fool me.
//a cunning, underhanded plan to win the election by preying on people's fears and prejudices

Noun

//He may be a fraud, but you have to admire his cunning.
//the cunning with which Tom Sawyer was able to get others to whitewash the fence for him

First Known Use

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

displaying keen insight //a cunning observation

prettily appealing cute //a cunning little kitten

noun

Definition (Entry 2 of 2)

dexterous skill and subtlety (as in inventing, devising, or executing) //To go in knowing little or nothing about the play may be the purest way to experience its dramatic cunning. — Naveen Kumar //Her knowledge was born of vast experience, the natural cunning of a survivor. — Brian Jacques
ability to mislead, trap, or escape an enemy or opponent craft, slyness //Few fish can match the blazing speed of a mako, the sheer power of a great white, or the great cunning of a tiger shark. — William McKeever
obsolete
knowledge, learning
magic art

Other Words

Adjective

cunningly ˈkə-niŋ-lē adverb //They cunningly dodged our questions.
cunningness noun

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms: Adjective

artful beguiling cagey (also cagy) crafty cute designing devious dodgy [chiefly British] foxy guileful scheming shrewd slick sly subtle tricky wily

Synonyms: Noun

artfulness artifice caginess (also cageyness) canniness craft craftiness cunningness deviousness foxiness guile guilefulness slickness slyness sneakiness subtleness subtlety wiliness

Antonyms: Adjective

artless guileless ingenuous innocent undesigning

Examples

Adjective

//She was cunning enough to fool me.
//a cunning, underhanded plan to win the election by preying on people's fears and prejudices

Noun

//He may be a fraud, but you have to admire his cunning.
//the cunning with which Tom Sawyer was able to get others to whitewash the fence for him

First Known Use

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1