devious
departing from the most direct way; circuitous; indirect: a devious course.
without definite course; vagrant: a devious current.
departing from the proper or accepted way; roundabout: a devious procedure.
not straightforward; shifty or crooked: a devious scheme to acquire wealth.
Origin of devious
1Other words for devious
Other words from devious
- de·vi·ous·ly, adverb
- de·vi·ous·ness, noun
- non·de·vi·ous, adjective
- non·de·vi·ous·ly, adverb
- non·de·vi·ous·ness, noun
- un·de·vi·ous, adjective
- un·de·vi·ous·ly, adverb
- un·de·vi·ous·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use devious in a sentence
"If that is the case, hats off to him for guile and deviousness," says Yossi Verter in Haaretz.
The New York 23rd remains a cautionary tale about the Club for Growth and its snooty deviousness during the last days of the GOP.
Their streak of extreme deviousness, which comes out in one way or another.
They operated with a deviousness that made cartel treacheries seem like child's play.
The Cartels Jungle | Irving E. Cox, Jr.So with infinite deviousness Chitterlow came at last to his play.
Kipps | H. G. Wells
But the deviousness and aberration of our human faculties frequently amount to something considerably more serious than this.
Thoughts on Man | William GodwinThere is in your heart a simplicity which the white man can never fathom and a deviousness which he can never understand.
East of Suez | William Somerset MaughamI had meant to approach the matter with a diplomatic deviousness.
The King's Mirror | Anthony Hope
British Dictionary definitions for devious
/ (ˈdiːvɪəs) /
not sincere or candid; deceitful; underhand
(of a route or course of action) rambling; indirect; roundabout
going astray from a proper or accepted way; erring
Origin of devious
1Derived forms of devious
- deviously, adverb
- deviousness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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