devious
adjectiveattested in dialogue
- //ˈdiː.vi.əs//
Cunning or deceiving, not straightforward or honest, not frank.
adjective
- 1
Cunning or deceiving, not straightforward or honest, not frank.
- 2
archaicRoundabout, circuitous, deviating from the direct or ordinary route.
The wandering Arab never sets his tent Within her walls; the Shepherd eyes afar Her evil towers, and devious drives his flock.
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.
We went down accordingly into the waste, and began to make our toilsome and devious travel towards the eastern verge.
On the second day, a sail drew near, nearer, and picked me up at last. It was the devious-cruising Rachel, that in her retracing search after her missing children, only found another orphan.
Etymology
1590s, "out of the common or direct way," from Latin devius (“out of the way, remote, off the main road”), from de via, from de (“off”) (see de-) + via (“way, road”). Compare deviate. Originally in the Latin literal sense; the figurative sense of "deceitful" is first recorded 1630s. Related to deviously, deviousness. Figurative senses of the Latin word were "retired, sequestered, wandering in the byways, foolish, inconsistent."
Forms
- comparative
- more devious
- superlative
- most devious
devious · Cunning or deceiving, not straightforward or honest, not frank.
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