1
as in cunning
clever at attaining one's ends by indirect and often deceptive means
tried to fix the game with a guileful plot to sabotage the other team's bats, but the umpire caught them
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in deceptive
given to or marked by cheating and deception
received a guileful answer when I asked the dealer if the used car had ever been in a collision
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for guileful
Adjective
-
The mean girl, as we’ve been taught to recognize her, is cunning and charismatic.—
Shelby Stewart,
Essence,
8 Apr. 2025 -
With time, cunning, and no irony, the Shuberts slew the Syndicate Goliath and built a monopolistic empire of their own that Justice Department lawyers would decades later force into an antitrust settlement.—
Frank Rich,
Vulture,
8 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Battering ram with deceptive speed (4.51), but struggles catching the ball.—
Rob Reischel,
Forbes.com,
14 Apr. 2025
-
Key attributes: Explosive speed, deceptive footwork for separation.—
Joe Buscaglia,
New York Times,
11 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
His grousing is interrupted by some very cute uncle moments with Maria and Tommy’s son, Benji, then Joel takes off just as Tommy gets back.—
Kimberly Roots,
TVLine,
13 Apr. 2025
-
Snake Bird Vintage has a fantastic array of clothing and accessories in a cute repurposed garage.—
Kara Franker,
Southern Living,
13 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Ask if there was any suspicious account activity, such as a login from a new device, before the fraudulent charges occurred.—
Kurt Knutsson, CyberGuy Report,
FOXNews.com,
10 Apr. 2025
-
Barker and the business owner — who pleaded guilty in February on charges in a separate indictment — agreed to deduct the true cost of the supplies from the fraudulent invoices and split the rest between them, according to the indictment.—
Natalie Demaree,
Miami Herald,
9 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Shannon Riley, founder and CEO of Building 180 – an art production and consulting agency that arranged the installation – told USA TODAY battery and funding reasons limit the subtle chest motions that mimic breathing to an hour a day, from 5-6 p.m.—
Jorge L. Ortiz,
USA Today,
18 Apr. 2025
-
There have been subtle hints of Bayley turning on Valkyria to further their feud for the Intercontinental title.—
Joe Nguyen,
Denver Post,
18 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
The mood shifts from shady to straight-up scandalous.—
Shelby Stewart,
Essence,
21 Apr. 2025
-
Instead, Fenix lost the biggest match of his young WWE career, albeit under shady circumstances, while Americano picked up a WrestleMania win.—
Blake Oestriecher,
Forbes.com,
20 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Katt's other notable roles included that of teacher Harry Senate on the school drama Boston Public, crooked finance associate Greg Weinstein in Boiler Room, and detective Frank Duggar in Speakeasy.—
Kat Stinson,
EW.com,
14 Apr. 2025
-
He’s been dropping tapes nonstop since 2022, as his method is really to flood the internet with his motivation music and unglamorous crime epics full of crooked cops, lookout boys, dealers, dope fiends, tricks, and urban decay.—
Alphonse Pierre,
Pitchfork,
11 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Here are some of the most affordable autos A Chinese brain chip company could soon surpass Elon Musk's Neuralink The 10 most dishonest states in America — according to Las Vegas defense lawyers Costco's Kirkland brand became a massive financial success.—
William Gavin,
Quartz,
31 Mar. 2025
-
Attempting to separate Robinson’s baseball career from racial animus and conflict feels intellectually dishonest.—
Ken Makin,
Christian Science Monitor,
27 Mar. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Guileful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/guileful. Accessed 27 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share