Insidious - English meaning

adjective

Clever or skilful, especially in a crafty or cunning way.

Usage examples:

Her artful wiles

adjective

Intelligent and skillful, esp. in persuading, sometimes without being completely honest

Usage examples:

His politics was an artful blend of high-minded patriotism and malicious gossip about his opponents…

adjective

Made with the back of the hand facing in the direction of movement.

Usage examples:

A backhanded pass

adverb

With the back of the hand or with the hand turned backwards.

Usage examples:

Frank hit him backhanded

verb

Strike with a backhanded blow or stroke.

Usage examples:

In a flash, he backhanded ace across the jaw

adjective

Clever at achieving one's aims by indirect or deceitful methods.

Usage examples:

A crafty crook faked an injury to escape from prison

adjective

Skillful in argument but likely to be dishonest

Usage examples:

A crafty lawyer

adjective

Having or showing skill in achieving one's ends by deceit or evasion.

Usage examples:

A cunning look came into his eyes

noun

Skill in achieving one's ends by deceit.

Usage examples:

A statesman to whom cunning had come as second nature

adjective

Skillful in planning and ready to deceive people in order to get what you want

Usage examples:

A cunning scheme, they made their way safely back through enemy territory by stealth and cunning.

adjective

Guilty of or involving deceit; deceiving or misleading others.

Usage examples:

A deceitful politician

adjective

Marked by deliberate deceptiveness

adjective

Giving an appearance or impression different from the true one; misleading.

Usage examples:

He put the question with deceptive casualness

adjective

Making you believe something that is not true

Usage examples:

It's deceptive - from the outside the building looks small, but inside it's very big.

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

Having or showing sly or cunning intelligence.

Usage examples:

A supremely guileful and deceptive politician

adjective

Using cleverness in order to deceive someone or get what you want

Usage examples:

We could see that john's guileful smile and flattering talk were a disguise, and that he was really…

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

Cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous, especially in politics.

Usage examples:

A whole range of outrageous machiavellian manoeuvres

noun

A person who schemes in a machiavellian way.

Usage examples:

As sartre admitted in his eulogy, ‘he reaffirmed the existence of moral fact within the heart of ou…

adjective

Using clever but often dishonest methods that deceive people so that you can win power or control

adjective

Done or operating in an impressively smooth and efficient way.

Usage examples:

Rangers have been entertaining crowds with a slick passing game

noun

An oil slick.

Usage examples:

The slick is a serious threat to marine life

verb

Make (one's hair) flat, smooth, and glossy by applying water, oil, or gel to it.

Usage examples:

His damp hair was slicked back

adjective

Having or showing a cunning and deceitful nature.

Usage examples:

A sly, manipulative woman

adjective

Not letting others know true opinions or intentions, or dishonest

Usage examples:

She thought that by being sly, she could fool people., a cat can be a very sly animal., he winked s…

adjective

(of a feeling) persistent in one's mind but reluctantly held or not fully recognized.

Usage examples:

I've a sneaking suspicion they'll do well

verb

Move or go in a furtive or stealthy way.

Usage examples:

I sneaked out by the back exit

adjective

(of feelings or thoughts) slowly becoming stronger

Usage examples:

I have a sneaking suspicion that i need more memory in my computer.

adjective

Furtive; sly.

Usage examples:

Sneaky, underhand tactics

adjective

Behaving or done in a cautious and surreptitious manner, so as not to be seen or heard.

Usage examples:

Stealthy footsteps

adjective

Quiet and careful in order not to be seen or heard

Usage examples:

Stealthy footsteps, the cat's movements were chillingly stealthy as it stalked its prey., he tried …

adjective

(especially of a change or distinction) so delicate or precise as to be difficult to analyse or describe.

Usage examples:

His language expresses rich and subtle meanings

adjective

Not loud, bright, noticeable, or obvious

Usage examples:

Subtle flavors, a subtle shade of pink, the subtle nuances of english pronunciation are hard to mas…

adjective

Kept secret, especially because it would not be approved of.

Usage examples:

Low wages were supplemented by surreptitious payments from tradesmen

adjective

Done secretly, without anyone seeing or knowing

Usage examples:

A surreptitious glance

adjective

(of a task, problem, etc.) requiring care and skill because difficult or awkward.

Usage examples:

Applying eyeliner can be a tricky business

adjective

(of a piece of work or a problem) difficult to deal with and needing careful attention or skill

Usage examples:

Removing scar tissue can be a very tricky operation., he’s a tricky fellow – you can’t always trust…

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

Skilled at gaining an advantage, especially deceitfully.

Usage examples:

His wily opponents

adjective

Quick to think of things, having a very good understanding of situations and possibilities, and often willing to use tricks to achieve an aim

Usage examples:

A wily hunter