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Qualities

Synonyms for cunning

Synonyms for cunning: clever and tricky. Every one of them is a hand audited pair from the Synonym Stack word bank, shown below in the sense it fits, in a real sentence, and beside the words that only look close.

2 synonyms · Tier 2, Treeline · 2 senses · adjective · 1 reason line · a wrong tile in 3 puzzles

The 2 synonyms for cunning

  • cleveradjective, in the sense "showing inventiveness and skill"
  • trickyadjective, in the sense "marked by skill in deception"

Each of these belongs to a different sense of cunning, which is why the meaning beside them changes down the list.

Sense 1 of 2adjectiveTier 2, TreelineQualities

showing inventiveness and skill

The cunning maneuvers leading to his success.

The context the game gives you. The gloss above is for readers here, not for players there.

The true synonym

clever

Same sentence, swapped: The clever maneuvers leading to his success.

Close but different

Wrong tiles, chosen to be tempting rather than absurd. The reason line above takes the nearest one apart; the rest fail the same sentence for their own reasons.

  • dodgy
  • crooked
  • treacherous
Sense 2 of 2adjectiveTier 2, TreelineThinking and knowing

marked by skill in deception

Cunning men often pass for wise.

One sentence, one sense. Without it the word could be read three other ways.

The true synonym

tricky

Same sentence, swapped: Tricky men often pass for wise.

Close but different

Distractors, not synonyms. This entry has no written reason line yet, so read them against the sentence and the sense above.

  • artistic
  • slim
  • handy

Where cunning turns up in the game

cunning is the word under test in two puzzles, spread across Tier 2, Treeline. It also sits on the board as one of the three wrong tiles in three other puzzles, where the answer is a different word entirely.

The puzzles where cunning is the trap

  • slimadjective, Tier 2, Treeline. The answer there is slight, in the sense "being of delicate or slender build", so cunning is there to be ruled out.
  • slimadjective, Tier 3, Ridgeline. The answer there is slender, in the sense "small in quantity", so cunning is there to be ruled out.
  • crookedadjective, Tier 4, High Camp. The answer there is asymmetrical, in the sense "irregular in shape or outline", so cunning is there to be ruled out.

Play cunning

The bank on this page is the bank the game plays from, so cunning reaches you as a board rather than a definition: the sentence first, four tiles, and the meaning after you choose.

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Why the near miss missed, in the game as well as here

Synonym Stack plays from this exact bank. cunning carries 1 written reason line, and the game shows them the moment a round ends, whichever tile you tapped.

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