Cunning vs Perceptive - What's the difference?
cunning | perceptive |
Sly; crafty; clever in surreptitious behaviour.
* South
(obsolete) Skillful, artful.
* Bible, Genesis xxv. 27
* Bible, Exodus xxxviii. 23
* Shakespeare
(obsolete) Wrought with, or exibiting, skill or ingenuity; ingenious.
* Spenser
(US, colloquial, rare) Cute, appealing.
(obsolete) Knowledge; learning; special knowledge (sometimes implying occult or magical knowledge).
Practical knowledge or experience; aptitude in performance; skill, proficiency; dexterity.
* 2005 , .
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.
having or showing keenness of perception, insight, understanding, or intuition
As adjectives the difference between cunning and perceptive
is that cunning is sly; crafty; clever in surreptitious behaviour while perceptive is having or showing keenness of perception, insight, understanding, or intuition.As a noun cunning
is (obsolete) knowledge; learning; special knowledge (sometimes implying occult or magical knowledge).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)- They are resolved to be cunning ; let others run the hazard of being sincere.
- Esau was a cunning hunter.
- a cunning workman
- ''Tis beauty truly blent, whose red and white / Nature's own sweet and cunning hand laid on.
- cunning work
- Over them Arachne high did lift / Her cunning web.
- a cunning little boy
- (Bartlett)
Synonyms
* See alsoEtymology 2
From (etyl) cunning, kunnyng, partially from (etyl) *.Noun
(en noun)- indeed at this very moment he's slipped away with the utmost cunning into a form that's most perplexing to investigate.
- the cunning of the fox or hare
Synonyms
* (l) * (l) * (l)perceptive
English
Adjective
(en adjective)- He is so perceptive when it comes to other people's feelings.