1
2
a
: clever in concealing one's aims or ends : furtive
b
: lacking in straightforwardness and candor : dissembling
3
: lightly mischievous : roguish
a sly jest
slyly
adverb
or less commonly slily
She slyly evaded the question.
slyness
noun
Synonyms
Examples of sly in a Sentence
the movie pairs a sly, dissembling ex-con with an upstanding, straight-arrow cop
why, you sly fellow! I had no idea you were planning my birthday party
Recent Examples on the Web
Philadelphia – Minnesota governor Tim Walz kicked off his onstage remarks in Philadelphia on Tuesday evening with a sly crack at the current guy in the White House.
—
Brittany Bernstein, National Review, 7 Aug. 2024
Beneath the novel’s profound weirdness is a sly skewering of the precarity of modern employment, where any kind of permanence can seem like a pipe dream and contentment is often just as elusive.
—Chelsea Leu, The Atlantic, 7 Aug. 2024
But taken together, the works are a sly retort to Italy’s current anti-immigration right-wing government, showing that Italians have been foreigners too.
—Emily Watlington, ARTnews.com, 30 July 2024
The series’ Oscar-winning star Oldman was recognized in the Lead Actor In A Drama category for his sly turn as shambolic-looking British intelligence officer Jackson Lamb for the third season of the show, which debuted last November.
—Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 18 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for sly 
Brittany Bernstein, National Review, 7 Aug. 2024
Beneath the novel’s profound weirdness is a sly skewering of the precarity of modern employment, where any kind of permanence can seem like a pipe dream and contentment is often just as elusive.
—Chelsea Leu, The Atlantic, 7 Aug. 2024
But taken together, the works are a sly retort to Italy’s current anti-immigration right-wing government, showing that Italians have been foreigners too.
—Emily Watlington, ARTnews.com, 30 July 2024
The series’ Oscar-winning star Oldman was recognized in the Lead Actor In A Drama category for his sly turn as shambolic-looking British intelligence officer Jackson Lamb for the third season of the show, which debuted last November.
—Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 18 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for sly
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sly.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Sly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sly. Accessed 19 Aug. 2024.
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