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Devious vs Ploy - What's the difference?

devious | ploy |

As an adjective devious

is deviating; not straightforward or honest, not frank; not standard.

As a noun ploy is

a tactic, strategy, or gimmick.

As a verb ploy is

(military) to form a column from a line of troops on some designated subdivision.

devious

English

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Deviating; not straightforward or honest, not frank; not standard.
  • * 1839 , Frederick Marryat, The Phantom Ship
    • Keeping close in to the shore, they discovered, after two hours run, a fresh stream which burst in a cascade from the mountains, and swept its devious course through the jungle, until it poured its tribute into the waters of the Strait.

    ploy

    English

    Etymology 1

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A tactic, strategy, or gimmick.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-22, volume=407, issue=8841, page=70, magazine=(The Economist)
    • , title= Engineers of a different kind , passage=Private-equity nabobs bristle at being dubbed mere financiers.
  • (UK, Scotland, dialect) Sport; frolic.

    • Etymology 2

    Probably abbreviated from deploy.

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (military) To form a column from a line of troops on some designated subdivision.
    • (Wilhelm)
    Antonyms
    * deploy (Webster 1913)

    Anagrams

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