wile
Other forms: wiles
The noun wile is good for describing a particular kind of deviousness, but its plural form is most commonly used.
Your charming brother might use his wiles to talk your parents into loaning him money again and again. You can describe your cousin's knack for getting exactly what he wants through slyness and trickery as his wile. Language experts can only guess about the origin of wile, though many believe it's related to the Old Norse vél, or "craft." Others think there may be a connection with the Old English word for "wizard," wicca.
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the use of tricks to deceive someone (usually to extract money from them)
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synonyms:
chicane, chicanery, guile, shenanigan, trickery
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types:
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dupery, fraud, fraudulence, hoax, humbug, put-on
something intended to deceive; deliberate trickery intended to gain an advantage
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jugglery
artful trickery designed to achieve an end
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goldbrick
anything that is supposed to be valuable but turns out to be worthless
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type of:
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deceit, deception, dissembling, dissimulation
the act of deceiving
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dupery, fraud, fraudulence, hoax, humbug, put-on
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Vocabulary lists containing wile
With a name that translates into Stout Heart, fifteen-year-old Mafatu, the son of the Great Chief of the Polynesian island of Hikueru, is determined to conquer his fear of the sea.
First published in 1820, this lyrical drama tells the story of how Prometheus is freed from his imprisonment after he defies the gods by giving fire to humans.
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