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Cunning vs Deceive - What's the difference?

cunning | deceive |

As an adjective cunning

is sly; crafty; clever in surreptitious behaviour.

As a noun cunning

is (obsolete) knowledge; learning; special knowledge (sometimes implying occult or magical knowledge).

As a verb deceive is

to trick or mislead.

cunning

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) cunning, kunning, konnyng, alteration of earlier (etyl) cunninde, kunnende, cunnand, from (etyl) cunnende, present participle of . More at (l), (l).

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Sly; crafty; clever in surreptitious behaviour.
  • * South
    • They are resolved to be cunning ; let others run the hazard of being sincere.
  • (obsolete) Skillful, artful.
  • * Bible, Genesis xxv. 27
    • Esau was a cunning hunter.
  • * Bible, Exodus xxxviii. 23
    • a cunning workman
  • * Shakespeare
    • ''Tis beauty truly blent, whose red and white / Nature's own sweet and cunning hand laid on.
  • (obsolete) Wrought with, or exibiting, skill or ingenuity; ingenious.
    • cunning work
  • * Spenser
    • Over them Arachne high did lift / Her cunning web.
  • (US, colloquial, rare) Cute, appealing.
    • a cunning little boy
    (Bartlett)
    Synonyms
    * See also

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) cunning, kunnyng, partially from (etyl) *.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (obsolete) Knowledge; learning; special knowledge (sometimes implying occult or magical knowledge).
  • Practical knowledge or experience; aptitude in performance; skill, proficiency; dexterity.
  • * 2005 , .
    • indeed at this very moment he's slipped away with the utmost cunning into a form that's most perplexing to investigate.
  • Practical skill employed in a secret or crafty manner; craft; artifice; skillful deceit.
  • The disposition to employ one's skill in an artful manner; craftiness; guile; artifice; skill of being cunning, sly, conniving, or deceitful.
  • The natural wit or instincts of an animal.
    • the cunning of the fox or hare
    Synonyms
    * (l) * (l) * (l)

    deceive

    English

    Alternative forms

    * (obsolete)

    Verb

    (deceiv)
  • To trick or mislead.
  • * {{quote-news
    • , year=2012 , date=April 26 , author=Tasha Robinson , title=Film: Reviews: The Pirates! Band Of Misfits : , work=The Onion AV Club citation , page= , passage=Hungry for fame and the approval of rare-animal collector Queen Victoria (Imelda Staunton), Darwin deceives the Captain and his crew into believing they can get enough booty to win the pirate competition by entering Polly in a science fair. So the pirates journey to London in cheerful, blinkered defiance of the Queen, a hotheaded schemer whose royal crest reads simply “I hate pirates.” }}

    Synonyms

    * See also

    Related terms

    * deception * deceptive * deceit

    External links

    * *