The meaning of Devious

adjective

Sinuous or circuitous.

Usage examples:

The line of gold extends and becomes anfractuous

adjective

Having a lot of bends or curves

verb

Act dishonestly or unfairly in order to gain an advantage.

Usage examples:

She always cheats at cards

noun

A person who behaves dishonestly in order to gain an advantage.

Usage examples:

Athletes who abide by the rules are up against cheats with a distinct advantage.

adjective

(of a route or journey) longer than the most direct way.

Usage examples:

The canal followed a circuitous route

adjective

Not straight or direct; roundabout

Usage examples:

We took a circuitous route home., the train tracks wound circuitously through the canyons.

adjective

Guilty of or involving deceit; deceiving or misleading others.

Usage examples:

A deceitful politician

adjective

Marked by deliberate deceptiveness

adjective

Covered or marked with an unclean substance.

Usage examples:

A tray of dirty cups and saucers

adverb

Used for emphasis.

Usage examples:

A dirty great slab of stone

verb

Make dirty.

Usage examples:

She didn't like him dirtying her nice clean towels

adjective

Behaving or prone to behave in an untrustworthy, deceitful, or insincere way.

Usage examples:

He was a dishonest hypocrite prepared to exploit his family

adjective

Not honest

Usage examples:

He’s been dishonest with us, and i’ll never trust him again.

adjective

Bringing shame or disgrace on someone or something.

Usage examples:

His crimes are petty and dishonourable

adjective

A dishonourable action causes embarrassment and a loss of people's respect

Usage examples:

This was a dishonourable attempt to avoid responsibility., they regard killing an unarmed man as di…

adjective

Not considered to be respectable in character or appearance.

Usage examples:

He was heavy, grubby, and vaguely disreputable

adjective

Hesitating or doubting.

Usage examples:

I was rather dubious about the whole idea

adjective

Probably not true or not completely true; doubtful

Usage examples:

The team had the dubious distinction of ranking 31st in the league., a dubious character

adjective

Deceitful.

Usage examples:

A duplicitous philanderer

adjective

Involving duplicity

Usage examples:

A duplicitous traitor/spy/politician

adjective

Obtained, done by, or involving deception, especially criminal deception.

Usage examples:

Fraudulent share dealing

adjective

Not what it claims or pretends to be

Usage examples:

Fraudulent advertising, there’s been a rise in fraudulent insurance claims.

adjective

Intended to deceive someone, for example, to get money

Usage examples:

They thought i might try to collect insurance on a fraudulent claim., for a charge of fraudulent tr…

adjective

Not conforming to accepted standards of morality.

Usage examples:

Unseemly and immoral behaviour

adjective

Not following accepted standards of morally right behavior or thought

Usage examples:

Discrimination on the basis of race is immoral., the immorality of lying

adjective

Not directly caused by or resulting from something.

Usage examples:

Full employment would have an indirect effect on wage levels

adjective

Happening in addition to an intended result

Usage examples:

Several other people were hurt as an indirect result of his carelessness., an indirect route, ranso…

adjective

Not done or communicated in a direct way

Usage examples:

We decided to take an indirect approach to tackling the problem of absenteeism., he made only an in…

adjective

Following a winding course.

Usage examples:

Meandering rivers flow at vastly different rates

noun

An act of following a winding course.

Usage examples:

Ox-bow lagoons left by the river's meanderings

verb

(of a river or road) follow a winding course.

Usage examples:

A river that meandered gently through a meadow

adjective

(of writing or speech) lengthy and confused or inconsequential.

Usage examples:

A rambling six-hour speech

noun

The activity of walking in the countryside for pleasure.

Usage examples:

A rambling club

verb

Walk for pleasure in the countryside.

Usage examples:

I spent most of my spare time rambling and climbing

noun

A road junction at which traffic moves in one direction round a central island to reach one of the roads converging on it.

Usage examples:

Turn right at the next roundabout

adjective

Not following a short direct route; circuitous.

Usage examples:

We need to take a roundabout route to throw off any pursuit

adjective

Not simple, direct, or quick

Usage examples:

You took the roundabout way to get here.

adjective

Of or like a serpent or snake.

Usage examples:

Serpentine coils

noun

A dark green mineral consisting of hydrated magnesium silicate, sometimes mottled or spotted like a snake's skin.

Usage examples:

The metamorphic mineral serpentine - or magnesium silicate hydroxide - is composed of magnesium, si…

verb

Move or lie in a winding path or line.

Usage examples:

Fresh tyre tracks serpentined back towards the hopper

adjective

Full of twists and turns.

Usage examples:

The route is remote and tortuous

adjective

Full of twists and turns; not straight or direct

Usage examples:

His so-called shortcut turned out to be tortuous and slow.

adjective

Guilty of or involving betrayal or deception.

Usage examples:

A treacherous gestapo agent

adjective

Tending to betray

adjective

(of the ground or the sea) extremely dangerous, esp. because of bad weather conditions

Usage examples:

Freezing rain made driving treacherous., he was treacherous, or at least sneaky.

adjective

Acting or done in a secret or dishonest way.

Usage examples:

Underhand dealings

adjective

(done) by moving the arm from back to front with the hand below shoulder level and with the inner part of the hand facing forward

Usage examples:

An underhand toss

adjective

Done secretly, and sometimes dishonestly, in order to achieve an advantage

Usage examples:

This is an underhand attempt to resume commercial whaling., insurers have been accused of using und…

adjective

Another term for underhand.

Usage examples:

Underhanded practices

adjective

Done secretly, and sometimes dishonestly, in order to achieve an advantage

Usage examples:

Shareholders sued the company, alleging an underhanded attempt to deprive them of their rights.

adjective

→  underhand

adjective

Not morally correct.

Usage examples:

It is unethical to torment any creature for entertainment

adjective

Not morally acceptable

Usage examples:

Unethical business practices

adjective

Morally wrong

Usage examples:

The financial services authority's probe into unethical and illegal trading is focussing on the top…

adjective

Not based on or behaving according to the principles of equality and justice.

Usage examples:

At times like these the legal system appears inhuman and unfair

adjective

Not fair

Usage examples:

It seems unfair to tax you both where you work and where you live., the company unfairly denied her…

adjective

Not morally right, or not treating people in an equal way

Usage examples:

Businesses argue that the tax idea is unfair because it is based on revenue, rather than profit., w…

adjective

(of a person or their behaviour) not acting in accordance with moral principles.

Usage examples:

An unprincipled womanizer

adjective

Having or showing no moral rules or standards of good behavior

Usage examples:

An unprincipled politician

adjective

Having or showing no moral principles; not honest or fair.

Usage examples:

Unscrupulous landlords might be tempted to harass existing tenants

adjective

Willing to lie or cheat to succeed

Usage examples:

An unscrupulous salesman

adjective

Behaving in a way that is dishonest or unfair in order to get what you want

Usage examples:

Unscrupulous dealers/employers/operators counterfeit documents make it easier for unscrupulous empl…

noun

A twisting movement or course.

Usage examples:

The windings of the stream

adjective

Following a twisting or spiral course.

Usage examples:

Our bedroom was at the top of a winding staircase

verb

Cause (someone) to have difficulty breathing because of exertion or a blow to the stomach.

Usage examples:

The fall nearly winded him