Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

cunning

/ˈkʌnɪŋ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 3.45 in modern English

Syllables
cun-ning
IPA
/ˈkʌnɪŋ/
10
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Sly; crafty; clever in surreptitious behaviour.

adj

Skillful, artful.

Obsolete

adj

Wrought with, or exhibiting, skill or ingenuity; ingenious.

Obsolete

adj

Cute, appealing.

Colloquial; Dated

noun

Practical knowledge or experience; aptitude in performance; skill, proficiency; dexterity.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

Practical skill employed in a secret or crafty manner; craft; artifice; skillful deceit; art or magic.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

The disposition to employ one's skill in an artful manner; craftiness; guile; artifice; skill of being cunning, sly, conniving, or deceitful.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

The natural wit or instincts of an animal.

Countable; Uncountable

Example Sentences

Etymology

From Middle English cunning, kunning, konnyng, alteration of earlier Middle English cunninde, kunnende, cunnand, from Old English cunnende, present participle of cunnan (“to know how to, be able to”), equivalent to con + -ing. Cognate with Scots cunnand (“cunning”), German könnend (“able to do”), Icelandic kunnandi (“cunning”). More at con, can.

Origin

Word Breakdown

Usage

Inflected Forms

more cunning (comparative) most cunning (superlative) cunnings (plural)

Derived Forms

cunningly cunningness overcunning uncunning wortcunning

Phrases

cunning folk cunning linguist cunning linguistics cunning man cunning stunt cunning woman

Frequently Paired Words

wily

Synonyms

astute artful cautelous crafty cunning devious diabolical foxlike foxy frood guileful shrewd

Antonyms

artlessness bluntness candor honesty innocence naïveté simplicity veracity

Rhymes With

running stunning gunning dunning shunning sunning outrunning bunning rerunning punning

Questions

How do you pronounce cunning?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈkʌnɪŋ/.
What does cunning mean?
Sly; crafty; clever in surreptitious behaviour.
Where does cunning come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce cunning

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “cunning”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈkʌnɪŋ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “cunning”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “cunning” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.