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Shifty vs Devious - What's the difference?

shifty | devious | Related terms |

Shifty is a related term of devious.


As adjectives the difference between shifty and devious

is that shifty is having the appearance of someone dishonest, criminal or unreliable; such as someone with shifty eyes while devious is deviating; not straightforward or honest, not frank; not standard.

shifty

English

Adjective

(er)
  • Having the appearance of someone dishonest, criminal or unreliable; such as someone with shifty eyes .
    • He was a shifty character in a seedy bar and I checked my wallet was still there after talking to him.
  • Subject to frequent changes in direction.
  • * 1971 , Henry Handel Richardson, Ultima Thule (page 121)
    • Off he raced, shuffling his bare feet through the hot, dry, shifty sand. But it was no good: she didn't care.
  • Full of, or ready with, shifts or expedients.
    • (Wright)
  • * Charles Kingsley
    • Shifty and thrifty as old Greek or modern Scot, there were few things he could not invent, and perhaps nothing he could not endure.

    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.