Synonyms for devious
- adjective
Most common
All synonyms
Adjective
1. Cunning — roundabout, circuitous, deviating from the direct or ordinary route
cunning, wily, circuitous, crooked, artful, aberrant, tricky, tortuous, roundabout, erratic, indirect, roving, wandering, winding, vagrant, rambling, ambagious, excursive, sly, deceitful, insidious, crafty
Other
treacherous, shifty, evasive, misleading, oblique, mazy, foxy, guileful
Definitions
- adj. 1
Roundabout, circuitous, deviating from the direct or ordinary route.
Related words
- Word family
- deviousness
Example sentences
- crooked The plants were growing crooked towards the window.
- cunning Tuaregs have a reputation for bravery and cunning.
- wily He plays a wily detective with a penchant for disguises.
- circuitous The train made a circuitous route back to the city center every day.
- misleading There are many misleading news articles nowadays.
- treacherous The weather can be very treacherous at this altitude.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| devious | rising | |
| crooked | rising | |
| cunning | rising | |
| wily | rising | |
| circuitous | steady | |
| misleading | steady |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 3 letters
- sly1
- 4 letters
- foxy2, wily2, mazy
- 6 letters
- tricky2, crafty2, roving2, artful2, shifty2
- 7 letters
- winding2, crooked2, cunning2, erratic3, oblique2, evasive3, vagrant2
- 8 letters
- indirect3, rambling2, aberrant3, tortuous3, guileful
- 9 letters
- wandering3, insidious4, deceitful3, ambagious, excursive
- 10 letters
- misleading3, roundabout3, circuitous4
- 11 letters
- treacherous3
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (foxy2 = 2 syllables).