CUNNING

cunning. Cunning, a. artful, sly, knowing, skilful, expert

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Cun″ning (kŭn″nĭng), a. [[AS. cunnan to know, to be able. See 1st Con, Can.]] 1. 1. Knowing; skillful; dexterous. “A cunning workman.” Ex. xxxviii. 23.
“Tis beauty truly blent, whose red and white Nature's own sweet and cunning hand laid on. Shak. Esau was a cunning hunter. Gen xxv. 27. 2. 2. Wrought with, or exhibiting, skill or ingenuity; ingenious; curious; as, cunning work.
Over them Arachne high did lift Her cunning web. Spenser. 3. 3. Crafty; sly; artful; designing; deceitful.
They are resolved to be cunning; let others run the hazard of being sincere. South. 4. 4. Pretty or pleasing; as, a cunning little boy. Barlett.
Syn. — Cunning, Artful, Sly, Wily, Crafty. — These epithets agree in expressing an aptitude for attaining some end by peculiar and secret means. Cunning is usually low; as, a cunning trick. Artful is more ingenious and inventive; as, an artful device. Sly implies a turn for what is double or concealed; as, sly humor; a sly evasion. Crafty denotes a talent for dexterously deceiving; as, a crafty manager. Wily describes a talent for the use of stratagems; as, a wily politician. “Acunning man often shows his dexterity in simply concealing. An artful man goes further, and exerts his ingenuity in misleading. A crafty man mingles cunning with art, and so shapes his actions as to lull suspicions. The young may be cunning, but the experienced only can be crafty. Slyness is a vulgar kind of cunning; the sly man goes cautiously and silently to work. Wiliness is a species of cunning or craft applicable only to cases of attack and defense.” Crabb.