guile

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun shrewdness as demonstrated by being skilled in deception
  2. noun the quality of being crafty
  3. noun the use of tricks to deceive someone (usually to extract money from them)

Etymology

From Middle English gile, from Anglo-Norman gile, from Old French guile (“deception”), from Frankish *wīl (“ruse”), from Proto-Germanic *wīlą, from Proto-Indo-European *wey- (“to turn, bend”). Cognate via Proto-Germanic with wile.

In classic literature

Synonyms

craft, craftiness, cunning, foxiness, slyness, wiliness

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